Orion's Arrival
by youcantkillaliar
Summary: Orion stumbles upon Tulsa after running away from her abusive household. For six months she's been searching for a place to call home. Could Tulsa, with the greasers, be where she belongs. Yeah, she thinks so.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first Outsiders fanfiction, so review and let me know how I'm doing.**

**I'm keeping the story so Johnny and Dallas are still alive. I know, I know, they died, but honestly, do you want them dead? I didn't think so. Anyway, this is six months after Bob's been killed and Johnny and Dallas have both healed from their injuries. Johnny got off with a couple months probation due to him acting out in self defense and because of his bravery at the burning church. I don't own the outsiders, but I do own Orion.**

**ON WITH THE STORY:**

I glanced up at the highway sign that lay in front of my face.

TULSA 5 MILES.

'**Five miles?**' I thought tiredly. Usually, five miles would be like nothing; you could do that much walking with your buddies without breaking much of a sweat, but not after walking for six days from a small town, many miles away. Not after walking from place to place for the last six months since my mother had died. My father was always a drunk and he had always beaten me, but when my mother died, it was like any sympathy he had broke. The beatings were worse than any rumble I'd been in; and I've been in rumbles with pipes, chains, and switchblades. I'd had enough of him, so I took off with the few belongings I'd had in search of a home. The problem was I just couldn't find anywhere that fit my liking. I guess it couldn't hurt to give Tulsa a try.

'**Tulsa, I hope you're ready for me.'**

By the time I reached the city, it was getting to be dusk. To the west, I saw the pretty houses with beautiful lawns and flower beds. To the east, I saw the dirty streets and rundown houses.

'**Looks like I'm heading east.'**

Just looking at me, it's pretty obvious I don't belong to the upper class. My long, blonde hair was a hot, wavy mess, and my clothes and skin were covered in dirt. I really could use a shower; I hadn't had one in three days. How was I supposed to know that the highway would go for so long? Yeah, people offered me rides, but I wasn't born yesterday; those disgusting men were looking for one thing and I wasn't about to give it to them. I got so lost in my thoughts, I hadn't seen the red mustang convertible begin to trail me. Five girls got out and surrounded at me. I kept my cool and lit up a cigarette.

"We've never seen you around before." One of the girls said.

"I've never been around before." I told her.

"So you've never met a soc then?" Another of them asked wickedly.

"No, what's a soc?"

"We are. A soc is anything you're not. We have the money, clothes, and the cars. You're a filthy piece of trash, a good for nothing hood. In this neighborhood, we call you a greaser. You should know greasers shouldn't walk alone when it's starting to get dark out."

I laughed dryly, "Well, thanks for the info; I'll be seeing you later."

I tried to push through them. Normally, if someone would have called me trash, I would have busted them up real good, but when the odds are five on one, against you, you try to get the hell outta there as quick as you can. But these chicks, they weren't about to let me go. I should have figured that much, but it was worth a shot.

"We're gunna teach you a lesson, grease." One of the five told me.

My brother, whose in the cooler for the next few years, had always taught me to handle each fight the same way. First, you size up the competition. If you're down on your luck, which I happened to be, you look for anything that might help you out. Checking out my surroundings, I grinned when I found a pop bottle. Like lightning, I picked it up and broke off the end.

"Well alright, but I'm just gunna make it fair. Teach away." I replied with a grin.

Adding a broken bottle, a switchblade, etc. to a fight always increases your chances at a win. As much as I love a good fight, there was no way in hell I was going to be able to win this one. My best bet was to hold them off as long as I could till someone either came along or until I could slip away and make a run for it. Their leader, a brunette dressed in your typical white, well-off type of outfit, threw insults at me for a while. For being so high in society, this girl sure did have a dirty mouth. She tired of this, seeing as I played it cool and didn't let it bother me.

"Get her." She told her friends smoothly.

Before I could even react they had me down and were pounding the shit out of me. I gasped for air and used the bottle, which I had somehow managed to keep in my hands, to clock one of the girls who was on top of me. They kept pounding though. You better believe I was kicking, swearing, and punching my brains out. I got a few blows in, but all the real damage was being to me. The sound of sirens filled the air, and for the first time in my life, I was actually relieved to hear the sound. The girls piled off of me and ran for their car.

"Welcome to Tulsa." The brunette cackled before speeding off, leaving me in the dust.

I moaned and spat out the blood that had collected in my mouth. After an unsuccessful attempt at trying to stand, I sprawled out on my back on the cool asphalt and waited for some of my strength to come back. Sometime after that I drifted off. Minutes, hours, or days later, I'm still not sure which, passed before I awoke to the warm rays of the sun pouring down on me. Slowly, I rose to my feet. My only thought was that I needed some aspirin to help the intense pounding in my head that was echoing throughout my entire body. Swaying violently, I surveyed my surroundings and saw a sign for the DX, the same gas station we had back in Stillwater. No one must have passed me during the night, because my backpack didn't get lifted and thank god for that; it held all the clothes and little bit of money I had left. I started on my painful walk to the DX. It was like I was drunk, for I could not walk in a straight line to save my life. I was staggering all over the goddamn sidewalk. Somehow, though, I was able to make it to that gas station. Well alright, I made it to the parking lot before I passed out cold, but I still made it.

I awoke with a start to some cold water being poured on my head. Murmurs from people passed into my ears.

"I think she's comin' to," one of them said.

My eyes opened, and before me were a bunch of boys with worried looks on their faces.

"You okay, darling?" asked the one with the long, rusty-colored sideburns.

"Barely." I responded.

"What happened to you?"

"Some girls.. red mustang convertible.. socs.." I trailed off.

A cold sweat began dripping down my back and my head started dropping. Man, I was in bad shape. The last thing I remembered before dropping off again was being picked up by the big one with muscles and him telling someone named Ponyboy to go wake Dallas up and tell him to get off the couch.

**Alright, that's chapter one in the series. Obviously, from now on the gang will be in it more often. I'll try to put chapters up as much as I can. Review and tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, thanks for the reviews for the first chapter, keep them coming please. **

**Here's chapter 2:**

About an hour later, I finally woke up. Have you ever gone to sleep after a long day of playing soccer with your friends and woke up all sore? Yeah, that's pretty much how I felt. I looked around to where the boys had taken me; it was a run down house. Nothing special, but it was nicer than where I was coming from.

"So you're finally awake? How ya feeling, doll?" one of the boys asked.

"I feel like I've got the worst hangover in my life or something, how are you doing?" I asked him with a small smile.

He just laughed and introduced himself as Two-Bit. The rest of them told me their names. Damn, some of these guys have some original names. I didn't tell them that of course; I mean Orion's a pretty interesting name for a girl to have.

"What's your name, and how the hell did you end up in Tulsa all by yourself? You're nothing more than a baby." Darry asked me in a slightly worried manner.

"I'm Orion. I ran away from my home in Stillwater," I said casually, like it didn't bother me that my father made things so bad I would rather be homeless than live under his roof, "And I'm sixteen, I'm no baby."

"How come you ran away?" Ponyboy asked curiously. Johnny elbowed him a little, signaling that it was kind of rude to ask me something like this. I didn't bat an eye to it though; I'm pretty good at pretending it doesn't bother me much.

"My mom died of cancer; my dad couldn't take it. He started drinking and hitting me, and I tired of it pretty quick and lit out of Stillwater."

They all nodded in understanding. I figured they would. Tulsa wasn't much different then where I was coming from; times are hard, almost everyone's going through some type of bad shit.

"Damn, kid, you're in pretty bad shape." Steve told me.

"Well thanks a lot that makes me feel real good." I replied, tossing him a pretend glare.

"Bathroom's right there if you wanna get yourself a shower and clean up." Darry suggested.

I nodded, grabbed my stuff, and headed into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. These guys seemed nice, but I didn't trust them that much. A gasp escaped my lips when I looked in the mirror. My hair was a mess, my face was covered in dried blood, and my clothes were absolutely filthy with dirt. Jesus, I looked bad. Taking Darry's advice, I stripped off my clothes and got ready to jump in the shower. It was hard not to notice the nice shade of black and blue that some of ribs had changed into. After I stepped into the shower, the water running off of my body was the color of maroon as the dirt and blood was washing off. When I was through, I reached into my pack for a towel and some clothes. A pair of blue jeans and a fitted t-shirt would do just fine. I tried to rush so I wasn't taking up the Curtis' bathroom too long, and in no time I emerged fully dressed and made up with my hair brushed down to the middle of my back.

"Well ain't you pretty without all that mess all over you." Two-Bit said grinning.

"You ain't gunna be pretty any more if I belt you one." I shot back with a wink.

Two-Bit grabbed at his heart, "You're killing me baby."

Everyone laughed as I sat myself down on the floor and began to lace up my converses. When I was done, I would thank them and head on out of here; it just wasn't me to overstay my welcome.

"You ain't going anywhere, kid." The mean looking one, Dallas, said to me.

I froze and reached into my backpack, feeling around for the switchblade that I really could have used last night, if I would have had time to search it out in there.

"Y-yes I am," I stammered out, rising from my spot and pulling out my blade. I thought they were nice guys. What the hell were they going to do to me?

"Jesus, Dally, scare her half to death," Soda scolded him, "He didn't mean it like that, honey, we just wanna make sure you're okay."

I eyed him suspiciously. He spoke so gently, that I felt like I could trust him. Dallas, though, he sure as hell wasn't gentle. Putting my blade in my back pocket this time, just in case, I grabbed my bag from the floor, "Thanks, y'all, for taking care of me, but I really should get going."

"And where do you think you're gunna go? Walking by yourself in this neighborhood just gives you a greater chance at getting jumped by another pack of socs. Is that what you really want? I don't think so, kid, you're still in pretty bad shape." Dallas told me, making me feel like a bad puppy that just couldn't do anything right.

"Of course I don't wanna get jumped again, but I don't even know y'all." I replied, returning his cold glare.

"Well come on, we're heading down to the Dingo to get something to eat. Get to know us." Two-Bit suggested, flashing his lopsided grin.

I couldn't help but return it. I also couldn't help feeling Dallas' cold gaze, which was still cast in my direction. It was making me nervous.

"Yeah, alright. Sounds good." I told Two-Bit.

He hooked arms with me and began half-dragging me to the Dingo. We slowed so I could fish a cigarette out of my backpack. To my disadvantage, I couldn't find a light. Unexpectedly, Dallas grabbed my shoulder and stopped me and lit up my smoke. I inhaled and thanked him.

"The last person that pulled a blade on me got their head busted in." He informed me matter-of-factly.

"So, you gunna bust my head in?" I asked all gutsy like. All the boys shared a look. It was obvious that people don't usually get away with talking to him like that. To be honest, Dallas scared the shit out of me, but I wasn't about to let him know it.

To my surprise, and everyone else's, Dallas laughed.

"You got guts, sugar. I like that."

**Alright, there's chapter two for you guys. Reviews welcome. Next chapter will be out ASAP.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry I didn't update for so long, but we put my dog to sleep a few days ago and I really had no ambition to write. **

**So here's the third chapter; thanks for the reviews it's good to know most of you like my story.**

My trip to the Dingo with the gang was nothing special; we all just kind of got a feel for each other. The guys all had their own quirks and passions, they were all different, but they stuck together; I think that's pretty tuff. On our way home, we had run into Two-Bit's mom. I guess something about me caught her eye because she told me I could come and live with them till I had myself all figured out. Being me, I had originally declined the offer. After a little persuading from her and the guys, though, I accepted. After all, it had been a while since I'd have a roof over my head.

Two-Bit's house was nothing special; a little cramped and a little dirty, but it was better then where I had been living with my dad. My mom's care had taken all of the little bit of money we had, so we had had to stay in a really shitty, two room apartment. I have to share a room with Emily, Two-Bit's sister, but that doesn't really matter much to me.

"Emily, go away, I got guests," Two-Bit complained at his sister who was sitting next to me at the table, eyeing Sodapop fondly as the guys all played poker.

Emily pouted and mouthed something real dirty at her older brother, but took off when Dallas looked up at her; I geuss she's just a little scared of him.

"I was just gunna say good one, kid." Dallas called after her.

Two-Bit and Dally got in a little battle of words after that, and were hushed when Two-Bit's mom walked in with some drinks. She handed them out, knowing who to give beer to and who to give Pepsis. Then, she eyed me curiously with a beer and a pop in her hand. After a few seconds, she handed me a beer and smiled, "I bet you drink, right honey?"

I laughed and nodded, "I'd be lying if I said no."

Two-Bit draped an arm across my shoulders, "I knew I liked you; now that you live here, the parties never gunna stop!"

We clinked our drinks together as the next hand of poker was being dealt out. I figured I could hustle the boys and make a little money to help pay my way around here. It wasn't like me to sponge off of people. Yeah, I would live at Two-Bit's, but they wouldn't have to worry about me being another mouth to feed. If my brother would have been here, he would have been proud to the fools I made of these guys. By the end of the night, and quite a few beers later, I had earned ten bucks. Not too much, but enough to get me by for now. Darry decided it was about time to go home to get some rest for work the next day, and he took Pony and Johnny home with him. Steve said a drunken goodbye and was off to find his girlfriend, Evie. Me, Two-Bit, Dally, and Soda were still looking for a little more action, so we took off to Buck's. The boys told me there was always a party going on there. Soda admitted to me that he wasn't usually one for drinking, but guessing by his slightly wobbly state, tonight must have been an exception.

"You're gunna love Buck's," Two-Bit assured me, "Plenty of dancing, booze, and pretty broads."

I simply laughed and pushed him a little, "I like dancing and I like booze, but I could care less about pretty broads!"

A ten minute walk led us to Buck's. You could hear the music from about two blocks away. People were everywhere; some were dancing, some were drinking, and some were making out. I felt someone grab at my hand, and found myself being pulled onto the dance floor by none other than Sodapop Curtis.

"You said you like to dance, show me what you can do." He exclaimed.

Well, I showed Soda what I could do. My mother's parents were Columbian, so I have some flavor in me. I knew I could dance well, and after a few songs, Soda knew I could too. We walked over to Two-Bit and Dallas, who were talking to two boys clad in leather jackets. Two-Bit handed me a shot of something and a beer and gave me a good natured kiss on the cheek, "You looked good out there, save me a dance, doll."

I took the shot and the two boys introduced themselves as Tim and Curly Shepard. They smiled at the fact I didn't need a chaser and said that I seemed like a cool, little broad. We got to talking for a few minutes before they were called away. Tim winked and told me to save him a dance as well. Looking past him, I saw a trashy-looking girl making her way over to us. You know the type I mean; those girls that wear enough makeup to make everyday Halloween, whose skirts would be short even on your five year old sister, and who might as well not even be wearing a top because you pretty much see it all anyway.

"Dally, you never called me." She shrieked. Dallas swore under his breath and mumbled something about never having any intentions of calling her. He said it was time to get going, and basically dragged us all out of the party.

"Y'all can crash at my house, especially you, Soda, because Darry won't be pleased with your drinking tonight." Two-Bit told Soda and Dallas. He flashed a look at me before stating, "Or should I say our house."

All I could do was smile at his stupid comment. I hadn't had a place to call home in a long time. It felt good to know that, for a little while at least, I would have somewhere to settle down. We arrived back at the house around four o'clock in the morning. To my surprise, Two-Bit's mom was still up, and judging by her outfit she had been out too.

"How was work ma?" Two-Bit asked, picking her up and twirling her around.

She slapped him on the shoulder lightly before heading into the kitchen. To settle my confusion, Two-Bit explained that she worked at a bar. Then, out she came again, passing beers out to all of us. Obviously, she was a little tipsy herself because she seated herself next to me and started talking to me like we were old friends. My drinks and the fact that I had gotten the shit knocked out of me just a few hours before, got the best of me though, and I dozed off somewhere in the middle of our conversation. The next day came too soon and I woke up on the floor with a blanket over top of me. I mumbled and sat up to find the boys watching tv and eating sandwiches. Two-Bit cracked up at the sight of me.

"My mom doesn't appreciate you passing out cold when she's trying to talk to you."

I laughed and got up off the floor and made my way to the bathroom to get myself all showered up. I heard the boys talking low voices as I made my way over. Soda said something about wanting me to stay a while. Dallas agreed and Two-Bit made a shocked sound in his throat and claimed I wasn't going anywhere. Smiling, I shut the door. I've only been here a day but I like Tulsa already.

**Eh, I don't know if this chapter came out how I wanted it to, but I just wanted to get Orion situated at Two-Bit's and figured why not throw in a party at Buck's? Reviews are always appreciated. Also, if you wanna PM me with your opinion on who Orion should get involved with that's fine also. )**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry it's been so long, but I was on vacation last week in ocean city, Maryland.**

**And here we have chapter 4:**

When I was all showered and ready, Two-Bit, Dally, Soda, and myself had headed over to the Curtis' to see what was happening. Darry got all aggravated at Soda for getting drunk and we had to listen to Sodapop charm his way out of it. And that's how things kind of went for a while. I learned all about Johnny killing that soc, about the Curtis' parents, and how Dally had been arrested at the tender age of ten. Amazingly, I even got enrolled in school. The system at this school was obviously busy because all Two-Bit had to do was tell them I was his cousin that had moved in due to family problems and I was handed a schedule and told to keep myself out of trouble. The socie girls gave me a lot of hassle because I was new and I didn't dress like most grease girls, but they kept their mouths shut after I busted one of them up real good. I got along alright with the greaser girls; they respected that I didn't dress like most of them and we had each others' backs. That's how it is everywhere though; you stick up for the people who are in your economic class.

Before I knew it, three weeks had gone by and me and the gang were basically inseparable; especially me and Two-Bit. I swear, I would think that boy wouldn't always want me around, but even when he takes a girl out, he feels the need to invite me along. Whenever this happened, I just took one of the boys with me; Johnny face had never been redder then when I asked him to be my date to the movies with Two-Bit and one of his many blondes. Well, it was never redder until I gave that sweet little kid a kiss on the cheek when we dropped him off. Johnny was a few months older than me, but like the rest of the gang I felt the need to look after him. Maybe it was the fact that he took the beatings from his dad so much to heart; I was never affected that much by my Pop. I guess it just depends on the person. Tonight was another one of those nights; Steve, Soda, and Two-Bit all had dates for the movies tonight, and Two-Bit asked me to come along.

"Yeah, I'll come; just let me rustle up a date." I told him coolly.

Now it just came down to who I was gunna ask. It was a school night, so I knew Pony and Johnny would just hang around the Curtis' house, and Darry was too old for me and he had work in the morning anyways; I feel real bad for that poor guy, always working.

'**Well I geuss I'll just walk over to the Dingo and find myself a date.' **I thought to myself. After all, I'd come to know a few of them and being with the guys I knew they wouldn't try anything with me. A ten minute walk led me to the Dingo and I saw a bunch of greasers shooting the breeze outside of the popular hangout. I spotted Tim and Curly Shepard standing with Dally and I made my way over to them. Tim looked me up and down and a smirk planted itself on his lips.

"Hey doll, what's your pretty face doing walking alone?" He asked smoothly.

Now I had heard a lot of greaser girls talk about how Tim Shepard was a low class hood, but for some reason, a lot of them found themselves hooking up with him. I simply smiled at Tim's attempt to pick me up and figured I would have a little fun with him.

"Well I heard Curly was here and I figured I'd ask if he wanted to escort me to the movies tonight." I said coolly.

"Y-you wanna date my kid brother?" Tim stammered.

Curly seemed very amused at the whole situation, as he had a cat-like grin on his face and I just knew his ego was getting bigger at a girl picking him over his big brother.

"He don't look much like a kid to me," I told Tim before turning to Curly, "So what do ya say, Curly? You wanna go to the movies tonight and then head over to Buck's?

"Yeah, babe, sounds good." Curly said, trying to sound cool.

"Good, meet at the Curtis' around eight then." I said giving him a wink before heading over to hang out with everyone till it was time to go. Before I made it far, Dallas called my name and jogged to catch up to me. He lit up two cigarettes and handed me one and we began the walk.

"What the hell was that all about?" Dallas finally asked me.

"Two-Bit asked me to go to the movies with him, and I needed a date. Tim was trying to charm me like he does other grease girls, and I figured I'd send him for a ride and ask Curly." I responded

"Curly ain't your type. He's a little shithead. You better believe he's gunna put a move on you tonight, kid." Dally told me.

"Oh, you know my type?" I mocked him.

"No, but Curly ain't it, kid."

We went back on forth for a while about why Curly wasn't my type. Honestly, I didn't even know why I was arguing because Curly was not my type, but it was one date and Dallas did not have control over whom I could date and who I couldn't.

"I think I know what my type is better than you, AND FOR THE HUNDRETH TIME, DALLAS WINSTON, STOP CALLING ME KID!"

Truth was, I hadn't mean to yell so loud, but earlier in the week I had heard some disturbing news from back home about my brother acting up in prison and how he had lost his chance at getting paroled. You shouldn't keep that kind of stuff bottled up because you could just explode without even wanting to. We had been walking our way up the Curtis' lawn when I had screamed so all the guys came out to see what in the hell was going on. They looked shocked to see that it was me and Dally who were causing all the ruckus. Dally at first looked taken aback at my outburst, but he faltered for only a second before a grin plastered itself on his face.

"I'll see you at Buck's tonight, ki-I mean Orion."

Without so much as a glance at anyone else, the mysterious Dallas Winston took off down the roadt. Suddenly, I felt everyone's eyes on me. In all seriousness, I had expected him to belt me one. By the look of surprise on all the gang's faces, I guess they had been expecting it as well.

"Orion, you need to be careful around, Dally. You can't get in fights with him like that. It's dangerous." Darry warned me.

I rolled my eyes; the fear that I had first had about Dallas had left weeks ago. He didn't scare me.

"Don't roll your eyes kid, we thought he was gunna belt you one." Darry called after me as I made my way inside to fix up my hair.

(Another POV, which Orion doesn't hear.)

"He won't hit her." Johnny whispered to the others.

"What makes you say that? No one, not even a girl, talks to Dallas like that." Sodapop asked Johnny curiously.

"Dally won't hit her because I think he has a thing for her." Johnny said.

Two-Bit let out a low whistle and told Johnny he was crazy.

"Yeah, that's why he cares so much about her going out with Curly tonight. That's why he cared so much when I took her to the movies and when Pony took her to the Dingo or whenever any of us take her out. He's jealous that she never asks him. I mean, a bunch of times he's been sitting next to Orion when she asks one of us out. He's so jealous." Johnny smiled. Whether it was for the fact that he thought he had figured something out before anyone else or because those were the most words he'd strung together in a long time, no one would ever know.

"He doesn't." Steve said.

"He can't." Soda replied awed.

"He wouldn't like someone like Orion. She's not the usually girl he goes out with." Two-Bit stated matter-of-factly.

"I do, and it's the fact that she's not like Sylvia and all those other broads that I like her; and if any of you tell her or anyone I'll kill you. Ya dig?" A breathless Dallas told them as he walked into the house without waiting for a reply, only to walk out a minute later with his leather jacket. He ruffled Johnny's hair a bit before once again taking off down the street, cigarette in his right hand with his leather jacket slung over his shoulder in his left and his St. Christopher medal hanging from his neck. Dallas Winston was the epitome of juvenile delinquent and he had admitted his feelings for the tough blonde inside the Curtis' house.

Two-Bit let out another long whistle, "Well I'll be damned; this is gunna get interestin'."

**Well there ya go, we got the story moving on a little bit. Enjoy and review pleaseeeee. **


	5. Chapter 5

**So I'm back with chapter 5.. sorry about the delays every time, but it takes a while for me to figure out how I want each chapter to go, plus its summer so I'm sleeping out a lot.**

**Hope you enjoy & review. **

It was about 7 o'clock and there was about an hour to kill till Curly was gunna swing by and meet up with us to head over to the movie. I had just finished brushing my hair down the middle of my back and was putting a clip in it when I heard the guys come back in the house. Knowing Soda and Steve would probably want to fix themselves up in the mirror, I finished up and joined Two-Bit on the couch, where he was drinking a beer and watching some old western flick on TV.

"You about as bored as me?" He asked.

I nodded my head and so it only seemed reasonable that we got a little drinking game going on. For the next hour, Two-Bit and I managed to drink a six-pack each by taking chugs out of our beer whenever the cowboy said "yeeha!" Sure, it was a stupid game, but it passed the time and I knew that me and old Two-Bit would both have more fun tonight. Soda walked out of his room wearing a fresh shirt and smirked when he saw what we were doing.

"Hey, Orion, let's see you walk a straight line."

In our current state, me and Two-Bit found this extremely funny and cracked up laughing. Steve joined in the game for the next couple of minutes, until Evie showed up with her friend, Rosemary, whom I was guessing was Soda's date. Curly arrived a few minutes later followed by Jessie, Two-Bit's date, and so we were all on our way. We decided to just walk to the movies instead of taking cars; it was a nice night out.

"You look real nice tonight," Curly told me, putting his arm around me as we were walking.

"Thanks," I said, lighting up a cigarette and glancing over at Steve and Soda, who had heard Curly, I rolled my eyes.

Both boys choked on a laugh. Lighthearted joking and small talk made the time it took to pass to the drive-in go pretty quick; I suppose those beers I had had weren't hurting me either. We were all having a real good time as we were trying to find some open seats; Two-Bit was keeping us all entertained with a story about how he had stolen his new leather jacket. However, he was interrupted when a breathless Tim ran up to us.

"Angela's in trouble." Tim told Curly.

"What'd she do now?" Curly asked.

"She showed up here with Deb's ex." Tim said, as though that explained everything.

"And?" Evie urged him to continue. Her and Angel were pretty good friends, so she wanted to know what was happening.

"And," Tim responded, "Deb and a bunch of her pals are looking to jump her right now, problem is I can't find her and she can't take all of them."

I knew Deb from school. She wasn't fat or anything, but compared to tiny Angela Shepard, or even myself, she was pretty big. I knew Angela as well; sure the girl was tough as nails, but Deb already had an advantage on her with her size and the addition of a couple of her friends made it clear that Angela was in for a serious beat down.

Evie swore and her and Rosemary made it clear that they were on Angela's side in the matter and would help her out. Jessie agreed as well. I could feel everyone's eyes on me now. I took a long drag on my cigarette; my loyalties lied with neither Angela nor Deb. However, I'm not down with 6 on 1 fights, either.

"Count me in," I stated.

Two-Bit flashed me that lopsided grin of his and I shrugged. We all took off in search of Angela, the guys following because they liked to watch the grease girl fights; they always got interesting. Deb's group had found Angela before we had and they had her backed up against a wall.

"Hey!" Evie shouted to them.

Deb looked over to us and smiled at what she saw.

"Evie and Rosie, shoulda figured you ran with this trash. But you, Orion, it seemed like your pretty head might hang out with some classier broads."

I blinked my eyes once, and I knew that they had that icy glaze about them that I got whenever I was about to get in a fight. I took one final drag off my weed before dropping it casually on the ground. I looked up lazily at Deb, "And I would have figured you could handle Angel by yourself. Guess not, though."

Evie and Rosemary laughed a little at my statement. Deb seemed to forget about Angela for the time being and walked over to me.

"I could take her!" She sceamed.

"Yeah, but only knowing that if you couldn't that one of your friends could finish her off. Pathetic."

Deb was shaking in anger. I knew it wouldn't be long now till she took a swing at somebody, probably me.

"Me pathetic? Look at you, running away from home because you couldn't take a few swings from your pop! You're the pathetic one"

Everything around me turned grey and my heart pounded in my skull. It felt like I had left my body and was watching myself walk over to Deb and punching her in the face. My fists rose again and again and I could feel her blood getting all over me. One of her friends hit me in the head with something really hard and I had her tackled to the ground and began beating the shit out of her before she thought I had even left the ground. The fight was now on. Angela, Evie, Rosemary and Jessie all picked off one of Deb's group and were fighting; there were two more of them, but in my current fury, I felt like I could have taken them all. When I finished the one that I had tackled I went back to Deb, who was holding her face and moaning on the ground. I cursed at her and grabbed her up by the collar and pushing her against a fence.

"Whose the pathetic one know, huh?" I snarled.

I went to hit her again, but felt someone pulling me away from her. A voice I recognized as Soda's told me the fuzz was about to show and we needed to get out of here. Soda kept hold of my hand and I ran with him, blinded by what I thought was my anger. We didn't stop running until we reached the Curtis' house. Pony, Dally, and Johnny were sitting on the couch but stood when we walked in.

"Christ, what happened?" Dallas demanded.

The boys were filled in, but I wasn't paying any attention; my head was still pounding. Dallas was grinning madly by the end of the story and congratulated us. Darry, on the other hand, was less amused.

"Let's get y'all cleaned up," He said tiredly.

We all felt bad then, Darry had work the next morning and we were keeping him up. Dally told us to follow him to Buck's so Darry could get his sleep. On our way, the world changed from grey back to its normal colorful self. Fights always make me lose track of colors and feelings. Suddenly, I could feel my head throbbing and it became clear to me that I had blood running down my face and over one of my eyes.

"What happened to my head?" I asked to no one in particular.

"One of those girls clocked you good with a broken bottle," Two-Bit explained to me, "Don't you remember?"

"I kinda get blind during fights," I admitted, "don't really feel anything."

The gang nodded in understanding and Sodapop walked over to me to get a better look at my head. He mentioned that it didn't look like I needed to get stitches.

"Yeah, I'm okay; let's just get drunk."

I received a chorus of yeahs from everyone, who just wanted to drop the seriousness of the night and have a good time. Curly must have really agreed with the idea because once we got to Buck's he had all us girls cleaned up in no time and was rustling us all up a drink. We were the heroes of the party; it turned out Deb and her gang tended to jump a lot of the greaser girl around here. With all the alcohol flowing, it wasn't long before I was completely wasted. I was sitting next to Curly on a couch, talking a mile a minute, when he leaned over and lightly kissed me. I didn't give a thought to the kiss and kept talking until Curly interrupted me.

"I just kissed you."

"Yeah, I know." I replied laughing.

He leaned in to kiss me again, but I pushed him away.

"I ain't that kinda girl, Curly, but that cute, little brunettes been staring at you all night; Seems like she got a crush on you. Go talk to her before you ruin your chance by kissing me," I said with a wink.

Curly smiled and took me up on my advice. I walked into the kitchen to grab myself another drink and smiled at Dally when he walked in a minute later to get another beer for himself.

"Saw what you did with Curly; I knew you weren't his type." He said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, yeah, you got me. Besides I got my eye on someone else."

Those words shot out of mouth before I could even stop them. I didn't have my eye on anyone else.

"Anyone I know?" Dally asked, interestedly.

"You might." I answered, shrugging.

Why am I still lying? There isn't someone he "might" know. Honestly, I hope it's just these drinks that are getting to me. Two-Bit stumbled in the room and picked me up in a huge hug before less-then-gracefully dropping me back down onto my feet.

"Jessie's lip-locking with Buck right now, can you believe it?"

I patted him on the arm, "That's rough, man."

"Eh, you win some you lose some. You wanna head on home now?" Two-Bit asked.

I nodded and we were ready to make our way out before Dallas said he was coming with us. Two-Bit walked a bit ahead of us on the way home, tipping over trash cans and screaming at the top of his lungs. Dally and I simply laughed at his antics.

"Is it him?" Dallas asked, referring to Two-Bit.

I shrugged, "Maybe."

And once again I found myself lying to Dallas Winston for no apparent reason.

**Well there you go' a pretty long chapter. Review if you wish. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Wow! Two chapters up so soon? Here ya go.**

**Chapter 6:**

The next morning, Two-Bit and I decided that our hangovers were too brutal to go to school. Still, Two-Bit was Pony and Johnny's ride, so he nicely woke Dally and I up and insisted we come along. W pulled up to the Curtis' minutes later and I opted to sit outside on the steps and smoke a cigarette and prayed the morning chill would cure this hangover. The boys emerged later and Ponyboy and Johnny greeted me before we piled into Two-Bit's car. Me being the only girl, I got the middle between the two school goers and rested my head on Pony's shoulder the whole way there.

"That's a pretty tuff scar," Johnny piped up.

"Yeah? Well its making my head hurt something awful." I responded.

"Must be; because you don't look so good, kid." Two-Bit chimed in.

"You must not have looked in a mirror, buddy, because you look just as bad." I said irritably.

Truth was, neither Two-Bit or myself did look very good this morning. My hair was a wreck and I was guessing that I had broken a couple of ribs because my stomach was killing me. Two-Bit needed a shave and he also had some battle scars from a soc fight a couple of days ago. The fact that we had drank so much the night before had also left us with dark circles under our eyes.

"Yeah you guys look like shit," Dally told us.

I mouthed something really dirty off to him then. Who the hell was he to tell me I looked like shit, especially when he wasn't looking his best either? He just smirked at this and mumbled something about me being a fiery little broad. I returned my head to Pony's shoulder and must have dozed off because the next time I woke up I was on the couch at Two-Bit's while Dally was dozing in a chair and Two-Bit was sprawled out on the floor watching TV.

"How'd I get here?" I grumbled.

"I carried you in," Two-Bit explained, "You were out, and your head was bleeding all over Pony's shirt and my car; maybe we oughta get you checked out today."

"Ah, I'm real sorry I didn't wanna mess up y'alls stuff."

"Pony got plenty of shirts and you've seen my car, a little blood couldn't have done much to make it worse."

We both smiled at the thought of Two-Bit's old clunker of a car. Damn my head was really hurting, but there was no way I would ever step foot inside another hospital. Hospitals don't help anyone, they just tear lives apart. It was because of them that my brother had robbed a liquor store trying to make more money for my ma's care and because of them that my mother had been in so much pain. I'd taken to blaming everything bad that happened to me on hospitals; sure they must help some people, but they sure as hell didn't help out my family. I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts; that was a mistake because it made my head hurt even worse. I stumbled over to the bathroom and found myself throwing up in the toilet.

"Lordy, we're taking you to a hospital." Two-Bit told me.

I tried and tried to protest, but he and Dally had me to my feet in no time and got me in the car. To our luck, it didn't start.

"Think you can walk to the DX, baby?" Two-Bit asked me worriedly.

"Yeah, I could, but I'm not going to because I ain't going to the hospital." I spat back at him.

"Come on, Orion, everyone gets hurt sometimes. That cut on your head ain't something to take lightly." Dally told me.

I shut my mouth then and refused to speak to either of them as they basically dragged me over to the DX. Soda and Steve were outside sitting around, as it was early and there weren't any customers.

"Last night sure was fu-, Jesus, darling, what happened to you?" Steve asked.

I decided his question didn't need an answer; I merely shrugged and glared at Two-Bit and Dallas as they told them about this morning. Funny thing is, they thought I was trying to be tough, like I could take all the pain, when the truth was I was actually just being scared. Sodapop, however, got the point. I swear that boy always knows why someone's upset.

"You don't wanna go because of your mom?" He asked gently.

I looked down at the ground and didn't say nothing for a while. Memories of her being in pain in a hospital were floating all around my mind, and it made my stomach hurt just thinking about it. Blinking a few times made the thoughts go away and I looked up at the gang.

"I only been to a hospital once since she died. It was back in Stillwater, and my pop had gotten me in a state worse than this; I was so bad, puking up blood and everything, and my friends made me go. We were sitting in the waiting room when one of the doctor's came in laughing and joking with one of the nurses. I beat the shit out of him and told him maybe if he wasn't so busy laughing he could be saving someone's life; that maybe if he got serious he could have saved her. I took off then, and haven't been back to one since, no matter how hurt I get."

None of them said a word; I didn't expect them to. I mean, what do you say to that? Sodapop, however, did pull me into a hug and whispered gently in my ear. He told me how he understood, how he went through the same thing when his parents died. Him telling me that made me feel good because I knew that there were at least three people in Tulsa going through the same thing as me.

"Alright, I guess I gotta go, huh?"

That's how Dally ended up driving me to the hospital in Steve's pickup. Two-Bit was rubbing my back gently, not saying anything; he didn't have to, though, and he knew it. Two-Bit was my best friend in Tulsa, maybe even in the whole world. When we arrived at the hospital, my body got all stiff. This was really hard for me to do, especially in front of Dallas who hated when people acted vulnerable. However, he wasn't shooting off any mean remarks; I should have known even he wouldn't because he knew it wasn't that I was afraid of needles and doctors, but because it reminded me of my mother and her pain. Besides, it not like I was crying or freaking out or anything; the last time I had cried was at my mother's funeral and I couldn't even remember the time before that. I'm no baby.

We made our way into the waiting room and Two-Bit got in line behind almost a dozen people to sign me in. Dallas and I found a place to sit; he sat on a long bench and propped his feet up, knowing we were gunna be here for some time, while I just started pacing and fidgeting in front of him. Dallas must have tired of this because he put his arms around me and pulled me down to him so I was sitting in between his legs with my body resting on his chest. I could feel his heartbeat, nice and steady. He didn't say anything comforting like Soda, Two-Bit, or Pony would do; he wouldn't though, he wasn't gentle like them. Dallas Winston was, however, one of the most solid people I knew; and so for the first time since pulling into the parking lot, I relaxed.

**Well there you go. Chapter 6. Review ). Might get chapter 7 up this afternoon or tonight.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Well here's chapter 7 for you guys. Hope ya like it. Reviews please.**

**CHAPTER 7:**

Not much else happened at the hospital. I got a couple of stitches in my head and a lecture about how I should have came to the hospital last night to get checked out and how lucky I was that it wasn't badly infected. Turns out the reason it was hurting so bad was because there was a little piece of glass caught in it; who knew? The doc gave me a bottle of pills to take for the pain and on our way into the car I popped a few. I didn't give the doctor much lip; he had been real nice, even wrote me an excuse for me and Two-Bit for school. We had about two hours before it was time to pick Pony and Johnny up, so we headed over to the Dingo. Tim and a few of his outfit were there, standing over by the pool tables; and we sat down with them and shot the breeze for a while.

"Angela's real glad you took Deb for her yesterday," Tim told me, "She says she ain't never gunna start anything with you."

I shrugged but said nothing; I was concentrating on my shot, I was low on money and one of these guys had put down five dollars that he could take me, but Tim continued, "You fight better then most boys I've seen; I reckon you can take any girl around here."

"I guess I'll have to thank my brother for that then. He taught me how to fight." I told him, making my first shot with ease.

"You got a brother? No kidding. Where's he at?"

My brother being gone is not something I brag about; It's not something I like to bring up in everyday conversation.

"Prison; Robbery and assault." I explained.

Of course, all the guys wanted to know the entire story so I launched into how my brother had robbed a liquor store, assaulted the owner who had pulled a gun on him, and had been arrested by the cops a few days later when he got ID'd in a lineup. My brother was always getting called into the police station because he was the leader of one of the three gangs roaming the downtown of Stillwater. Someone had sold him out, though, and that kid paid dearly for his mistake.

When it came time to pick up Johnny and Ponyboy, I had won that five dollars plus another seven more from two other unworthy opponents, and we said our goodbyes to the gang, but not before Tim goaded me about my date with Curly. I told him to shut his trap because I had kept his little sister from getting pummeled last night and that next time I might not be so quick to jump in. Tim whistled and shook his head before shooting me a wink as I left. Shepard was an okay guy; I still don't know how he manages to get so many girls though. After we picked up Pony and Johnny, who had to ride in the bed of the truck, we made our way back to the DX to give Steve back his car. As usual, we headed over to the Curtis' after.

"Thank god it's Friday," Soda said, as he arrived home from work and began bopping around the house.

Soda's got more energy then the rest of us combined. That boy can't sit still to save his life.

"What do y'all wanna do?" He whined.

"Pepsi, you ain't been in the house for more then five minutes and you're already whining. Cut it out." Darry yelled from the kitchen.

Soda shot a glare into the kitchen, which Darry could not have seen, but it still made us all laugh. Darry joined us in the living room a few minutes later and wondered why we kept laughing; Soda was making faces at Darry behind his back. Of course, Darry felt terrible when Two-Bit spun the tale about me going to the hospital this morning; he left out the part about me being upset about going to the hospital though, and I was grateful.

"I shouldn't have kicked you out." Darry told me after.

"Hey, I was fine last night." I assured him.

"She was fine in the hospital when Dally and her was all cuddled up together, too." Two-Bit said, grinning furiously.

Dallas cursed him out and I got up, out of my spot, and tackled him. We were soon rolling around on the floor, each trying to pin the other. I may be tough, but Two-Bit sure as hell is a lot heavier then I am and he had me down about two minutes into it.

"Say that you love Dally!" He shouted at me.

I grinned evilly, "I ain't doing nothing that you tell me to do."

"Fine then I'll just sit here."

And he did. For the next twenty minutes, Two-Bit Matthews sat on my stomach while the rest of the gang decided we would be going to watch the drag races. It was really getting hard for me to breathe, but as the guys, even Dally surprisingly, found this all very funny, they weren't helping me out and Two-Bit was crazy if he thought I was gunna say I loved Dally, so I had to endure it.

"You get off of her now, you're gunna kill her," Darry told him finally.

"Not till she says it," He exclaimed.

"Or until I pick you up and throw you off of her." Darry countered.

Two-Bit groaned and mumbled that Darry was ruining all his fun, but he got off me all the same.

"Wait till we get home tonight, though," He cackled, "You're mine sunshine."

We gave each other our meanest glares, but this only ended up with the whole room laughing at our behavior, including ourselves. It was soon time for the Curtis' to have dinner, and the gang left so they could have a little brotherly time together. All of us headed over to Two-Bits so we could get all showered and ready for the drag race tonight. It didn't take long for the two of us to get ready, and I was descending the stairs in jeans and a jean jacket when Emily came running into the house.

"I got a date tonight!" She squealed, before running into the bathroom to get all showered up.

Two-Bit looked floored to say the least.

"She, She's what?" He stammered.

"I believe she said she's got a date tonight." Steve said with a grin.

"My baby sister don't date." Two-Bit told him, wiping the grin right off Steve's face.

"Come on, she's fourteen, she isn't a baby any more." Steve said, trying to reason with the stony-faced teen.

After a lot of persuading, we convinced Two-Bit to let his sister go out on his date. Emily came rushing down the stairs in tears, wearing a skirt and a cute top.

"Why're you crying, you look great?" I told the girl, before Two-Bit could scream at her to take her skirt off.

"No I don't. I don't have your hair; I can't just throw on anything like you. You're beautiful; guys all love you." She blubbered.

I just know I gave her a horrified expression as she said all of this. Yes, I knew that I wasn't ugly, as I always seemed to be able to rustle up a date, but I don't consider myself beautiful, mainly because I take minimal time on my appearance; I simply brush out my hair and throw on some clothes, maybe add a little make up. I've never been one for skirts, give me jeans any day.

"Oh wipe that look off your face!" She screamed.

I glanced at the guys for help. For the time I've lived here, Emily had only ever raised her voice to her brother or her mother, never to me or anyone else in the gang. They all looked dumbfounded as well, so I decided to try something.

"Do you want me to do your hair and your make up?" I asked cautiously.

She pulled me into a hug and shrieked, "Would you really?"

I nodded and felt myself being dragged into the bathroom. It didn't take me long to get her all done up; after all, I had done this with my friends whenever we were trying to look real nice to impress a guy. Soda, Pony, and to my surprise Darry, were all sitting on the couch when we came out.

Soda let out a whistle and shot Emily his movie star smile, "Looking good, Em."

And she was. I had brushed her hair out and given it a little wave before putting it in a clip like I had done to mine last night. Never being a fan of a lot of make up, I hadn't done that much to Emily; just some eye shadow and mascara. Still, she looked real cute. The boys all gave her compliments, and she couldn't keep a smile off her face.

The boy that came to pick her up got a lecture that threatened death from Two-Bit if he did anything to his baby sister. He was a good-looking kid, greaser obviously, but it was easy to tell it was his first date. Emily gave her brother a hug and a kiss on the cheek goodbye before turning and doing the same to me.

"You dolled her up too much, he's gunna be all over her," Two-Bit accused me miserably.

"Doubt it. Emily will be lucky if he has enough guts to hold her hand; I'd say this is his first date." I told him matter-of-factly.

"How do you know that?"

"You boys think you're so hard to read. It's not hard to tell what y'all are thinking right when you pick us up." I explained.

The guys left it at that, and we made our way over to the drag races with me and Pony talking about what I'd missed in class.

Another point of view between Dally and Johnny

Johnny walked over to Dally and made it clear he wanted to talk to him alone. Dallas shooed Steve away and ruffled Johnny's hair like he always did.

"I got something to ask you." Johnny told Dally quietly.

"Shoot kid."

"What was Two-Bit talking about today at the hospital between you and Orion?" Johnny asked tentatively. The boy knew he could get away with a lot with what he said to Dallas, but he didn't usually exercise this privilege.

"She was shook up at the hospital, that's all." Dallas answered.

"Why don't you just ask her out Dal?" Johnny said, even more quietly.

"Because she told me she likes someone else last night, which is when I was gunna ask her. I asked her if it was Two-Bit and she told me it might be." The towheaded boy explained, looking angry.

"I think she's lying. Her and Two-Bit is just friends, she told me and Pony that last week. Maybe she's trying to get you jealous." Johnny explained.

"Yeah well it's working Johnny, you know? It's driving me crazy; first she asks all of you guys out without asking me and now she's saying she might have her eye on Two-Bit. I can't take it. How do you know all of this anyway, Johnny?" Dally asked him curiously.

"Because I keep quiet and see things that all of you don't see cause you're too busy talking." He said simply.

"Yeah well, kid, I don't do jealous well." Dallas replied before taking off.

Someone asked Johnny where Dally was heading off to. Johnny merely shrugged, but he knew where he was off to; he was looking for a fight tonight to get his frustrations out.

**There you go. Reviews!**


	8. Chapter 8

**fMkay, well here's chapter 8. Hope you like it.**

**Chapter 8:**

The drag races had been fun while they lasted, which wasn't very long. The fuzz had shown up and told all of us to get going, so we had headed back to Two-Bit's for a lack of anything better to do. Steve dealt out a hand of poker and they all began to play, while I watched TV; they never let me play any more because I always won. My head started pounding again, so I popped a few pills and finished off a bottle of wine with Sarah, Two-Bit's mom. I really liked her; she knew the score and didn't mind us drinking, as long as were safe about it. Dallas came by a few hands into the games and it was clear that he had been in a fight. By the time Emily came home about thirty minutes later, now accompanied by one of her friends, I was living off my buzz and couldn't wait to hear about her date. Apparently the date had gone well and she would be going out with him next week. Happier then I would normally be about Emily's status in life, I got up and gave her a great big hug. Sarah patted my head and told me to hold down the fort as she had to get on over to work.

It got to be pretty late and some of the gang began trickling home. By about midnight, Steve, Dallas, and Ashley, Emily's friend, were the only two remaining that didn't live in the house. Two-Bit laughed at the fact that I had gotten drunk with his mother again and decided this night would be better if he had a few beers himself. Steve and Dallas must have agreed, as they began drinking too. Two-Bit tried to stop Emily and Ashley from drinking some wine with me, but it was half-hearted; he knew he'd rather they drank their first time with him then at some party. After a while, Two-Bit decided he would rather spend tonight in the company of one of his many blondes and took off around two, leaving Dallas, Steve, Emily, Ashley and myself.

"Do you remember your first kiss?" Emily asked me.

She was obviously feeling that little bit of wine if she was asking this in front of Dallas and Steve, who simply smirked at the young girl's question.

"Yeah sure. Tyler Webb, fifth grade." I said simply.

I didn't elaborate, even though I knew Emily wanted me to.

"Well mine was tonight," She said excitedly, before clamping her hands over her mouth, "Oh no, don't tell my brother!"

We swore we wouldn't; even though I knew Dally probably would the next time Two-Bit got smart with him. It surprised me that Dallas and Steve were staying so long, as hanging out with Two-Bit's sister had never been their scene. I guess she was kind of their pet too, though. I mean, the gang is here a lot and they all say hey to her when they see her on the streets. Emily passed out on my shoulder a few minutes later, and Steve carried the girl up to her room before descending the stairs, with a giggling Ashley following behind.

"You mind if I crash in y'alls room?" He asked, referring to the room that Two-Bit and I now shared. I used to share a room with Emily, but Two-Bit decided that since I was always with him we might as well share a room.

"Yeah, take Two-Bit's bed though. His is the one on the left." I answered.

"Hey Johnny." Steve said, looking past me at the dark-haired boy in the doorway.

Johnny's dad must have taken it to him again because he was sporting a black eye and a fat lip. He merely nodded, looking scared.

"Come on in, Johnny. You can crash in my bed." I told him.

Johnny was always coming over for a place to sleep; it wasn't weird for him to show up in the middle of the night. Dallas stood up and put his hand on the Johnny's shoulder before leading him to the bedroom. He returned a few minutes later, shaking his head and cursing under his breath.

"I wish that kid would just take a swing at his old man already."

"I barely ever hit my pop back, either." I told him.

"So, you share a room with Two-Bit now?" Dallas asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, so?" I responded.

"Well ain't you mad that he's off with some blonde then?"

"Hell no, I don't care." I said, looking at him confusedly.

"I'd care if my girl was off with some guy." Dallas told me.

"Two-Bit's not my boyfriend, Dallas." I replied.

"Oh, so you guys just.. I see."

Anger flared in my eyes. Dallas knew damn well that Two-Bit and I were not boyfriend/girlfriend and that we sure as hell weren't sleeping together. At least, I thought he knew.

"Just to clear this up, Dallas, Two-Bit and I share the same room, and sleep in separate beds!" I snarled icily, standing up.

"What about you and Johnny? Steve? Soda? Pony? Darry?" He asked loudly, looking quite pissed off himself.

"Curly is the only person that's kissed me since I've been here and you know that I told him to shove off!" I screamed, "Why the hell does it matter to you anyways?"

"I don't know maybe because you ask all of them out all the time!" Dallas retaliated. "What am I, not good enough?" He asked, speaking softer, but still emitting his anger.

"I never asked you out because I figured you'd play it cool and say no, making me look like an idiot." I told him honestly. "It's not like you ever asked me out either, you know."

"Fine then, everyone's going to the movies tonight, go with me."

"Yeah sure," I responded, "Now get off the couch, I'm trying to get some sleep tonight."

Dallas shook his head and threw me his famous smirk, "I'm comfortable here."

"Whatever," I said tiredly, "I'll just go crash with Emily and Ashley."

I made my way over to the stairs and was about halfway up when someone stopped me by lightly grabbing my arm. I jumped, Dallas sure didn't make a lot of noise when he walked.

"Calm down, it's just me," He said smiling, "There ain't nowhere to sleep up there but on the floor."

"Only place to sleep down here is on the floor."

"No one's gotta sleep on the floor if we both sleep on the couch." He explained, impatiently.

"I don't know Dally.." I said.

"I've seen you fall asleep with Two-Bit on this couch a million times, what's the difference? You afraid of me? I'm not gunna try anything with you, now get over here." Dallas replied, lying down on the couch.

I couldn't think of anything to respond to him, so I walked over and laid down with my back to him. The couch was nothing big and Dally had to put his arms around me and scoot me closer to him so I wouldn't fall off.

"I'm not afraid of you," I told him sternly a few minutes later.

"Mmm, I know," Dallas mumbled sleepily.

Sleep did not find me so easy. It never occurred to me that it would bother Dallas that I never asked him out. It also never occurred to me that it bothered me that he never asked me out. What was the difference between sleeping on the couch with him and sleeping on the couch with Two-Bit? I knew the answer, and it was about time I admitted it to myself

'**Because I don't like Two-Bit, I like Dallas.'**

**END**

**Mkay, that's the end of this chapter for you. Reviews please.**

**Special thanks to iheartponyboy33 for always reviewing.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for the reviews, I've been trying to get chapters out as much as possible.**

**CHAPTER 9:**

Dally and I woke up late the next morning to Two-Bit slamming the door and bragging to Steve and Johnny about last night. Tim Shepard was also there, which was weird since he didn't normally come over to our part of town at this time of morning. We caught Tim's eye and he looked over at us smiling.

"Looks like you two had fun last night." He said.

"Shut it, Shepard," Dally growled.

"I need your help," Tim told Dallas, ignoring Dal's previous comment, "Some Brumly guys have been hassling my boys and I wanna set Tommy straight and tell him to back off."

"He know you're coming?" Dally asked lighting up two cigarettes and passing one to me.

"Yeah, and you know him; he'll be bringing friends. Figure you and me can take whatever they give out."

Dallas thought for a second and told Tim that he'd go with him. He stood up and put his leather jacket on prior to heading over to the door where Tim was waiting for him. Dal glanced back at me.

"We still on for tonight?" He asked.

I nodded and he asked if I was worried about him going to fight.

"I ain't gotta worry about you, but don't be late."

Dal flashed me that mischievous grin of his and shot me a wink before heading after Tim.

"Well, what do we have here; does baby Orion have a date with tough ol' Dallas Winston?" Two-Bit asked me.

I clobbered him in the head on the way to the kitchen.

"I love you too," Two-Bit told me as the boys followed me into the kitchen and sat at the kitchen table expectantly.

"Hungry boys?" I asked with a laugh.

They all nodded, so I cooked up a batch of pancakes. We ate up pretty quick and had a whole day to kill before tonight. As it turned out, even Pony and Johnny had asked girls out.

"Way to go Johnny," I told the blushing boy as we rounded the corner to the Curtis house.

As always, we entered the house without knocking and Pony was sitting on the couch reading a book while Soda was watching TV.

"Hey Ponyboy, word on the street is you got a hot date tonight," Steve said, punching the boy lightly on the arm.

Pony looked at Steve like he was crazy for being so nice to him. I guess it's because Steve thinks he's a tagalong, but maybe bringing a girl makes it different.

"Our little boy is growing up so fast," Two-Bit joked, pinching Pony's cheeks.

Pony retaliated by tipping Two-Bit's chair and jumping on top of him. The two got in a little scuffle before Soda jumped up and screamed something about racing us to the lot. We all tore out of the house after him, Pony taking an easy lead over all of us. For the rest of the afternoon we played some football. Tim and Dally drove up at around four, looking pretty beat up. We all ran over to them.

"Asshole brought half his goddamn crew with him," Tim said angrily, wiping blood from a gash on the side of his face, "We still took him though. He won't be messing with my boys no more."

"Well let's get y'all cleaned up," I told them.

Two-Bit and me piled in Tim's car and we headed back to our place. Once we got there, Emily and I started to get the boys cleaned up.

"What the hell," I said, "did they pull a blade on you?"

"Yeah," Dallas said through gritted teeth as I cleaned his cut with iodine.

"You don't look so good," I told him honestly.

It was true; Dally had a black eye and gashes and bruises all over him. I'm pretty sure he had some broken ribs too. He and Tim had gotten good and drunk on the way home though, so he probably didn't feel as bad as he looked.

"Nothing a little lie down before tonight won't cure," He said, acting tough.

"You sure? We don't have to go tonight." I responded.

"I'm sure," Dal told me, pulling me into Two-Bit's and my bedroom, "I just wanna lie down for a bit."

I laid down beside Dally and put my head on his chest. A few minutes passed and I had assumed that Dallas had fallen asleep.

"Why weren't you worried about me going to fight?" He asked out of the blue.

"Because I know you can handle it," I told him sleepily.

"Sylvia always cried when I got in fights," Dallas told me drunkenly.

"I ain't Sylvia," I said angrily.

Why the hell was he bringing her up? They haven't been together in months. I pulled away from him and went to get up, but Dal pulled me back down.

"I know you ain't Sylvia," He told me firmly, "I hate when girls worry about me fighting."

I nodded and Dallas pulled me close and we fell asleep. An hour later I woke up and decided to take a shower for tonight. I gathered up my clothes and everything I needed to shower quietly so I didn't wake Dal up; after his fight tonight I was going to let him sleep until it was time to go. On my way to the bathroom, I saw that Two-Bit was watching TV and Tim was asleep on the couch. I shut the bathroom door and removed all my clothes before stepping into the shower and letting the hot water rinse the dirt from the football game off of my body. It didn't take long for me to get dressed and brush my hair out. When I stepped out of the bathroom, Two-Bit had taken over the couch and was napping himself, while Tim was eating a meal Emily had fixed up for him.

"Are you hungry, Orion?" The younger girl asked me.

I said yes and sat down at the table across from Tim and serving myself some roast beef and green beans.

"So, you and Winston are going out tonight?" Tim asked.

"Yeah," I answered.

"His head was swimming on the way home from the fight," Tim told me, "one of Tommy's guys bashed him in the head with a piece of pipe and he was mumbling about how he was taking you out. He wouldn't shut up about you."

I just smiled and shrugged; I didn't know how to react to that so I didn't say anything. Two-Bit and Dally joined us a few minutes later and both ate hungrily.

"Slobs." Emily murmured.

"What'd you say?" Two-Bit asked.

"I said you're a slob" She repeated loudly with a smirk, "I'm heading over to Kate's now, bye y'all."

"Wait, you ain't walking by yourself."

"I'll drive her," Tim offered standing up, "If you and Winston don't work out give me a call, doll."

I chucked dryly while Dally started to stand up.

"Don't, you know he's just fooling." I told him.

When we were done eating, I cleared the dishes while Dal grabbed a shower. Two-Bit was helping me dry, but he was barely doing any work and kept swishing my hair back and forth.

"Stop doing that!" I yelled at him.

"Why?" Two-Bit asked stupidly.

I responded to him by spraying him with water. Using the faucet must have turned Dally's water cold because he let out a yell. Me and Two-Bit laughed and I went into our bedroom to fix up my hair and put a bit of makeup on. It didn't take me long and I soon joined the two boys out in the living room and we walked on over to the Curtis'. Because all of us were going, with the exception of Darry who was meeting some old friends to play cards, we decided to walk again. First, we had to wait for everyone's dates to show up. Dally was sitting in an armchair while I was sitting on the couch trying to calm down a very nervous Ponyboy.

"She isn't coming," He told my glumly, after everyone's date had already arrived.

"Sure she is, she's just late."

"What am I gunna talk to her about?"

"Anything, and if you can't think of nothing, just put your arm around her and tell her how nice she looks."

This continued on for only a couple of minutes until Ponyboy's date showed up, apologizing profusely for being late; it turned out her mom was just late getting home from work. It got to be time to go and Dallas caught me eye and winked at me before standing up and walking over.

"You ready to go?" He asked confidently.

I liked that he wasn't nervous like Ponyboy; I don't do well around nervous people, they just make me uncomfortable.

"Yeah let's go." I told him.

We all began our walk to the movies; Two-Bit was keeping everybody laughing with his usual antics, Ponyboy and his date were talking about some book they had both read, and Johnny and his date kept sneaking nervous looks at each other, smiling when they caught each other's eye.

"Look at Johnny," I whispered to Dally.

He smiled and said it was about time that Johnny asked a girl out on a date, but that if he wasn't going to talk to her it probably wasn't going to work so well.

"You know how shy he is," I reminded him, "besides, a lot of girls think that's cute."

"Do you?" Dal questioned me.

"No, if I did do you really think I'd be going out with you tonight?"

Dally grinned at this and put his arm around me. We got to the movies and of course there was a huge line. Most of the guys probably wanted to sneak in, but I knew they wouldn't if they were trying to impress their dates; so we had to stand in line. It wasn't moving so I stood in front of Dally and leaned against him. Soda saw this and shot me a wink, which I returned once I saw him and his girl were holding hands. Just like last week, none of us got to watch the movie because some soc/grease fight broke out and the guys had to jump in and help out. This resulted in us getting kicked out.

"I swear, one of these days I'm gunna go to the movies and actually sit down and watch it," Soda said dryly.

"So, y'all wanna head over to the Dingo?" Steve asked, since there wasn't much else we could do.

Everyone agreed so we walked the short distance to the restaurant. We split up into booths then and Dally and I got paired with Two-Bit and his date, Tracey. She wanted to know all about the fight that I'd had with Debbie.

"Impressive." She told me once I was done telling her, "Didn't know you and Angel were close."

"We're not really, but I wasn't gunna watch her get jumped by six girls."

"You dig okay," She told me.

We walked around town for a while after that, since there wasn't much else to do. Then, when it got to be around 11:30, we dropped Johnny and Pony off at the Curtis' since their dates were getting picked up there. Soda's date had a curfew as well, so we dropped her off at her house on the way. Two-Bit of course let out a whoop when Soda kissed her goodnight. Then all of us headed over to Tim's; he had mentioned that he was having a party tonight. Tim sure knew how to throw a party; the music was blaring and there was enough alcohol to last for days. Soda pulled me out on the "dance floor" as soon as we got there and I looked back to Dal who merely watched me with interest. After a couple of songs we walked back over to the gang and Two-Bit handed me a beer.

"What'd I tell y'all, the girl can dance." He told the gang and their dates.

I noticed Dallas wasn't looking at me.

"What's the matter?" I asked, pulling him away from the pack, "You know that Soda was just fooling around. Besides, you don't dance anyways."

"It's not that," He told me.

He didn't need to finish though. His eyes were all bloodshot and his face was pale.

"You got hurt again in that fight at the movies, didn't you?"

Dally tried to play it cool and act like he was fine, but before he could stop me I lifted up his shirt and looked at the gash that he had gotten from the fight with the Brumly gang and saw that it was open again and bleeding badly.

"Christ, why didn't you say something?"

"Didn't want you to have to go home," He mumbled, grinning sheepishly, "Besides it's not that bad."

I shook my head and smiled before telling him I was going to go get Tim's keys. It didn't take me long to find him and tell the gang I was taking Dallas back to Two-Bit's.

"Do you even know how to drive?" Dally asked me curiously before laying his head against the window and closing his eyes. "Damn my head's spinning."

"Yeah, been driving since I was thirteen," I answered pulling out of the parking spot and heading back home.

It didn't take long and when we got home the house was empty. I led Dal over to the couch and laid him down after taking his shirt off. Then, I grabbed a washcloth and some bandages so I could clean him up; I also grabbed some aspirin and a beer, knowing that they would make him feel better. Cleaning Dallas up took a while; he had really been bleeding. When I came back from the kitchen, Dally was sitting up, smoking a cigarette and drinking his beer.

"I thought you didn't care if I got into fights," He told me.

I lit up a cigarette myself and took a swig out of his beer.

"You can fight all you want," I told him, "but I ain't just gunna sit there and let you be hurting just because you felt like you had to take me out."

"Normally I would have called it quits but I figured since it took me more than a month to ask you out, I better make it count," Dally responded, draping his arm around me.

I smirked and told Dal that it looked like he was back to his old self again. We just sat there for a while then, watching TV while Dally put his head on my lap and I ran my fingers through his hair. Dally's heavy breathing signaled that he had fallen asleep. I just stayed there with him and talked to a very drunk Two-Bit and Tracie when they came walking through the door that night.

"You and Dally; I like y'all together." Two-Bit slurred before leading Tracie to our room.

I sighed, as it looked like my bedroom was going to be occupied tonight. Two-Bit normally didn't bring girls back for that reason, but I suppose in his current state he must have forgotten. It didn't matter too much to me though; Tracie was one of the few girls Two-Bit had taken out that I actually liked. Dal stirred by the sound of something in my room getting knocked over; I rolled my eyes, it looks like someone's having fun tonight. Dallas lifted his head up out of lap; he looked pretty disorientated, like he didn't know who he was or how he'd gotten there. He smiled when his eyes fell on me, though, and before I knew it I felt his lips on mine. The kiss didn't last very long, but it wasn't just a peck either. To be honest, it felt good to be kissed by Dally.

"I like you," He told me matter-of-factly before pulling me down to lay beside him and nestling his head into my neck.

I smiled to myself at Dally's behavior; all of this fighting today really had his head in a fog. It also got me to thinking; did Dallas like me like I liked him or was I just another girl? However, I soon subsided to Dally's warmth and drifted off to sleep.

**Well there's chapter 9; thanks everyone for the reviews. )**


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10:**

I woke up to Sarah shaking me awake the next morning. As soon as I opened my eyes I knew that something was wrong. For one, everyone there was staring at me; Two-Bit, Dallas, Soda, Steve, Pony, Darry, Johnny, Sarah, and Emily. Dallas put an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him; like he was trying to protect me from something. It all reminded me of the day my mom died.

"When did y'all get here?" I asked everyone who had shown up without me knowing, hoping changing the subject might make whatever was happening go away. Soda's eyes looked real sad and he gave me a small smile.

"Honey, you need to call one of your friends from back home, okay? They've been trying to get a hold of you all night," Sarah told me.

My mind went numb and I remember stumbling into the dining room and picking up the phone and calling Frankie from back home. It seemed like a dream when Frankie told me what had happened; Jesse, my brother's best friend and one of mine as well had been jumped last night by one of our rival gangs in Stillwater. He had been found dead at around 3 am; they had pulled a blade on him and left him to bleed to death. Frankie could barely get the story out before I heard him getting choked up.

"He looked so bad, kid," he told me, "I never seen anybody so beat up."

I was told that I needed to get on the next bus and get home so I could get there in time for the funeral tomorrow. We hung up without saying goodbye. Walking back out into the living room, I could feel all of their eyes on me.

"I'm so sorry, baby," Two-Bit told me in a voice that did not match his normally cheerful tone.

There wasn't anything to say back to that, so I merely walked into our bedroom and grabbed some money out of my top drawer before walking back out; it was a rule in our gang that you don't get dressed up for funerals so I didn't need anything else.

"I gotta go home for the funeral," I explained, "I wanna come back after; if that's okay."

Like Two-Bit my voice sounded different; it sounded hard and icy. Sarah told me that I was always welcome in their home. I said goodbye to everyone, leaving Dallas for last. When I walked over to him he merely grabbed my hand and told everyone he would drive me to the bus station. We got in the car and Dal kept starting to talk and then stopping; under any other situation it would have been funny to see Dallas Winston at a loss for words.

"You don't have to say nothing," I told him after another failed attempt.

He simply nodded and grabbed my hand. We soon arrived at the bus station and I paid for my ticket and had half an hour before the bus would come.

"You don't have to stay," I told Dally.

"Orion, I'm not going anywhere," He responded.

My bus came; Dally pulled me into a hug and gave me a kiss on the forehead before I boarded.

"See you soon?" He asked questioningly.

"Yeah, I'll be back," I assured him.

I won't go into all the details about what happened back home. My first stop was the county prison, where I got to visit my brother. He was tough about it; but he did tell me how much he missed me. A lot of people look down on my brother for what he did but I know why he did it and it makes me love him even more; I really wish my brother wasn't in jail because I miss him just as much as he misses me. From the prison I walked to Frankie's, knowing the whole gang would be there. None of them had changed; we all got good and drunk that night remembering Jesse. We also went looking for members of the gang that jumped Jesse and we pounded the shit out of them; it felt good to get some revenge.

The funeral went just like every other one I'd ever been to; it was the funeral of a hood. Jesse's parents sobbed and pretended like they cared while we all waited for the crowds to clear so we could get our last words in. We hadn't lost anyone from our outfit for a few years; we were like Darry's gang, part of something bigger, just like they were a part of the greasers, so it was real tough to lose someone who had been almost family. Yeah, I'd been away for a while, but they all understood that my father made life impossible in Stillwater.

Speaking of my father, he paid me a visit when I went for a walk around town. He beat me up bad; worse than he had had in a while. I guess he was making up for the time since I'd been gone. Frankie found me passed out on the sidewalk and brought me back to his place where I got cleaned up. I drank the pain away. The next morning I woke up sore all over. After I said my goodbyes to the gang I headed to the bus station with enough booze to last me the journey and bought a ticket. Frankie gave me a bottle of downers too; he said they made drinking a real fun time. I popped a few and drank up and was in and out of consciousness on the ride home; I don't know if it was from the booze and the pills or my injuries, probably a little bit of both. When I got back to Tulsa, I realized that I didn't know anyone's phone number for a lift home and so I got started walking the five mile distance.

'**Looks like I've gone full circle,' **I thought to myself as I recalled this is exactly how I'd arrived here the last time. I was stumbling along and kept having to take rests. To put it simply, I was in real bad shape and the liquor I'd drank had gone straight to my head. Frankie had told me not to drink all of it, especially if I popped some pills, that I only needed less than half to get myself good and drunk, but I'd drank it all anyways. Since I'd left to go back home I'd been numb and I didn't want it to stop; the liquor kept that numbness going. Those pills made me feel like I'd been hit by a truck too. When the Curtis house finally came into view, I couldn't help but be relieved. I was really drunk and I just wanted to pass out. As always, I didn't knock when I walked into the house and the gang was all there when I walked in. They gasped when they saw me; I really did look horrible.

"This is why I ran away from my old man," I told them.

My head was spinning; I figured this was why he'd said not to mix the pills with so much alcohol.

"Man, I don't feel so good," I said to no one in particular.

I heard someone telling me to go lay down in Soda and Pony's room, but their voice sounded so far away. Still, I felt myself being dragged into a room and being set down on a mattress.

"Where's Dally?" I asked.

"It's me, baby, it is Dally."

"I'm pretty messed up, huh?"

"Yeah, you're sick." He told me.

My eyes shut, tired from the pain and from not getting much sleep the past two days. I was shivering and Dal rubbed my arms and threw a blanket over us to get me warm. When I woke up, it was dark and I was alone. My body was stiff and sore and goddamn did I have a hangover. I stumbled out into the kitchen where the gang was all sitting and Darry and Dally were fixing some soup; probably for me to eat.

"Hey y'all," I said, making my presence known.

Everyone flashed me a smile, but it was really uncomfortable; they felt bad for me and I couldn't stand it. Feeling the need to be numb again, I searched through the icebox before finding some gin that me and Two-Bit had bought a few days earlier. Darry and Dally didn't think that me drinking was a good idea at all; I told them it wasn't any of their goddamn business. Dallas shut his mouth then and I known I'd hurt him. But when the rest of the gang persisted I took off with the gin and a new handful of the pills. To put the record straight, I had never taken drugs except for a little grass when I was younger. My brother hated drugs and made sure I never took any. Right now, though, none of that mattered. Two-Bit followed me to the lot and just sat with me. He didn't yell at me or tell me to stop, he was just there to make sure I was okay. Twenty minutes into it, and the pills hit me like a ton of bricks.

"Holy shit, Two-Bit," I said, shivering.

Two-Bit put his leather jacket over me and rubbed my back. I began to tell Two-Bit all about Jesse; how had was like an older brother to me, how him and my brother had taught me how to fight, everything. He listened and didn't say a word.

"You're my best friend, I hope you know that," I told him.

Two-Bit nodded and smiled, "You're my best friend, too."

We sat for a while in silence; we had never told each other that we were best friends; I know we've both thought it, we just never said it out loud. I glanced over at him and he pulled me up, knowing I was ready to head back.

"To the Curtis'," He told me, "My ma can't see you like this."

I wouldn't have made it back to the house if Two-Bit hadn't put my arm across his shoulders and helped me. Dally screamed at Two-Bit when he saw how wasted I was. Two-Bit calmly told him to stop, that I'd been through a lot and I was just dealing with it. He lit me up a cigarette and sat me next to him on the couch.

"Play it cool, they don't know you're flying," Two-Bit whispered to me.

Two-Bit always talked about drugs by saying you're flying; I guess he describes it pretty good because that's how I felt. Dally knew, though, he always knew. He waited for everyone to head to bed before taking me out on the porch to talk to me about it, though; Two-Bit had gone home to tell his mom that I was back. Before Dally could get any words out, I pulled him into me by the collar of his leather jacket and kissed him. He kissed me back; it was obvious that we had both wanted this for a long time. His hands fell to my waist and pulled me close, while mine cupped around his neck. We didn't pull apart for a long time and when we finally did, we both had smiles on our faces. Dally pulled me up a few minutes later and started to lead me into the house; I looked at him confusedly.

"I don't think either of us have gotten much sleep the past two night; come on." He told me.

"You ain't been sleeping; why?" I asked.

"Because I been worried about you." Dal said quickly.

I smiled and pushed him up against a wall before kissing him again. When we pulled apart again, Dally did something I didn't expect; he took off his ring and placed it in my palm, looking at me, waiting for an answer. Smiling, I said yes.

**Mkay there's chapter ten. Reviews. Next chapter will be a while because of school and such. Hope you liked!**


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11:**

Dally had walked me back to Two-Bit's once his mom had gone to work; he had wanted to spend the night with me, but I just wanted to be alone. With all the shock and the stuff I've been taking wearing off, Jesse's death was finally setting in. He wouldn't be there any more to get me out of the house when my dad was beating on me. He wouldn't be there any more to understand how much I missed my brother now that he was in jail. Jesse had been part of my life for a long time and it hurt to think of living without him. I stayed up the entire night, just sitting on the back porch smoking cigarettes, drinking some more, and thinking about all the crazy shit we'd done. The sun was coming up and I cursed under my breath; I was dead tired and I had barely slept the last few days. I made my way into the house and walked into my room. I guess Two-Bit had been trying to wait up for me because he had fallen asleep sitting up. Gently, I woke him up and got him to lay down so he'd be more comfortable. I kissed him on the cheek and walked over to my bed.

"So you and Dally are going together now?" Two-Bit mumbled sleepily.

"Yeah, he gave me his ring," I said yawning.

"That's good; he'll take care of you." He told me.

Seconds later we were both passed out and we slept for a few hours. When I woke up everyone was there again and Sarah was making dinner for everyone, even though Darry told her she didn't have to feed everyone. I was still drunk from before and wasn't feeling too hot, but Sarah stopped what she was doing and came over and hugged me.

"I'm glad your back, honey." She told me.

I nodded drunkenly and went and sat down on the couch. Suddenly, I remembered.

"Two-Bit we had school today."

We both looked at each other and laughed; me and him do not take school seriously at all. Darry wanted to play football in the lot before dinner, since he had missed it last time. I went just to watch. On the way there, Dally walked up next to me and hugged me tightly. I flinched slightly cursing my dad for messing up my ribs again. Dal pulled my shirt up to look at them; the guys had stopped and looked too. Johnny got all nervous, probably thinking about his own dad.

"It's fine," I told them.

They nodded and they left it at that; they knew that I didn't like to talk about it. When we got to the lot, Dally sat down next to me.

"Go play," I told him.

"No," He said smiling and leaning over to give me a kiss.

We talked for a while after that; he wanted to know about the funeral and everything. Then we headed back with the guys for dinner, trailing slightly behind them. Dal had his arm over my shoulder and I had mine around his waist. Emily had her friend Kate over when we got to the house. Kate was a year younger then me and I couldn't stand her; she was constantly turning greaser girls against each other and making everyone choose sides. Her and Emily had just started hanging out and Two-Bit and I agreed that we didn't like the situation. She looked me and Dally up and down.

"I figured you had higher standards, Dally," she told him.

I knew Kate had always wanted Dally. Not because she liked him, but because she would look cool if she was with him. She always showed up at Buck's and tried to get with him. Dally thought she was a little tramp and always told her to back off.

"I do," Dal said coldly, "That's why I'm with Orion."

I shot some remark at Kate then; with everything on my plate right now I really didn't feel like taking her shit. She got in my face and said we should probably take this outside. We did and I took her and that was that. It made me real mad that I didn't even get into the fight like I usually did. I couldn't wait until these downers were completely out of my system. Emily was almost crying and kept saying sorry about Kate; I told her it wasn't her fault because it wasn't. When I walked into the house Sarah went nuts and told me that she hadn't seen me without some kind of scar on my body since I'd been here.

"People like to hit me, what can I say?" I told her in a monotone voice that sounded completely unlike my own.

"Fine, just let Emily clean that cut up."

"It's okay," I told her, grabbing a beer from the fridge and seating myself at the table.

Sarah wouldn't let it go then so I downed my beer and told her I would go get cleaned up. I took a quick shower, did my hair, and got changed as always. When I walked out of the bathroom, the guys were just sitting watching TV. I decided to go have a smoke on the back porch.

"Come get some dinner, honey, you look like you haven't eaten anything in days."

I thought about that then; over the last few days I'd been too drunk to eat much of anything. It dawned on me that I was really hungry.

"Yeah you look skinny, kid," Darry told me.

The gang all nodded and I laughed.

"I never said I wasn't hungry," I told them.

Sarah dished me up a plate and her and Emily sat and talked to me about the funeral and everything.

"And those bruises that you came home with, are they from your daddy?" Emily asked me.

I looked at her; Emily never brought up my father, and I never brought up her's and Two-Bit's. Everyone had heard her too, so i felt uncomfortable.

"Emily, you don't ask that kind of question," Sarah told her.

I sighed and told her it was okay; that I didn't mind.

"Yeah my pop did it." I continued.

Emily stared and nodded her eyes wide with fright. After a couple moments I couldn't take everyone looking at me any more, so I grabbed my jacket from my room and headed for the door.

"You wanna come, Dal?" I asked.

He nodded and stood up.

"I can't take everyone feeling bad for me and looking at me like I'm gunna breakdown or something," I told him once we were well enough away from the house.

"They think you shouldn't be drinking right now," Dallas told me matter-of-factly.

"Do they? They never cared before when I always did. You think the same as them?"

Dal took a minute to think about his answer before he finally spoke.

"You know the gang cares about you; that's why they think you shouldn't. As for me, I'm in no position to tell anyone not drink, but I think you should wait till you're over this a little bit. Sometimes drinking makes it worse," Dally told me; his eyes showed that he knew from experience, "We're all worried about you; I mean you told me how you never do drugs and next thing I knew your popping downers."

I felt real bad then. Here the guys were all worried about me, especially Dal, and I'm getting drunk and stoned just because I didn't know how to handle losing Jesse. When I told Dally this, he simply wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. Surprised for a second, I didn't kiss back, but after a couple moments we were making out in the middle of the sidewalk. We pulled apart only when we heard Soda and Two-Bit's catcalls.

"Party at Buck's?" Two-Bit asked.

"Thought y'all didn't want me drinking." I responded.

"I never said that," He told me honestly.

Soda looked guiltily at me, making it obvious that he had said something. He looked real sad; Sodapop hated whenever somebody was mad at him.

"Stop looking so guilty, I ain't mad at you," I told him.

Soda smiled and grabbed me in a bone-crushing hug. Dal told him to back off and Soda just sort of slinked away from me, looking a little frightened. I shrugged at Soda and lit up a cigarette. By the time I was done with it, we had arrived at Buck's. If the guys didn't want me drinking, they sure had a funny way of showing it. Here we are, after an hour of being at Buck's, and the four of us are completely shit-faced. I'm having a good old time talking to Mike, one of Tim's gang, while Dally's fetching the next round of drinks.

"Hey Mike," a tough voice from behind us yells, "So I hear you jumped my kid brother last night."

"Yeah, he deserved it; he was stealing hubcaps off my car, Tony." Mike responded.

"This your girl?" Tony asked.

Before Mike could answer, I got slugged by Tony. He could really pack a punch; my head was spinning

"Man, what the hell's your deal?" Mike screamed.

I shook off the pain and threw a punch of my own at Tony, who must have thought I wasn't as strong as I am, for he stumbled backward against the wall. Tony grabbed my head and hit it hard off the table next to us. My vision was a blur as I saw Dally, Two-Bit, and Soda rush in to help Mike in murdering this guy.

"That's my girl, pal," Dal responded as he picked up Tony and drug him outside.

"You okay?" Soda asked as he pulled me up off the floor.

"Yeah, he only hit me twice," I said, rubbing at my head a little where it had hit the table.

"You got a lump," Two-Bit told me, grinning slightly as he touched the side of my face.

I shoved him and we made our way outside to see Dallas smoking a cigarette and standing over Tony. He looked up and walked away; even I knew better than to follow Dal when he was like this. Soda mentioned we should just head back to his house. Once we got there, Johnny and Pony were still up, smoking cigarettes on the porch.

"Nice bump you got there," Ponyboy said smiling.

I laughed and stole his cigarette since all of mine were gone, while Two-Bit began spinning the tale of tonight's occurrence. We sat around waiting for Dal to show up for a while, but after a half and hour, they all decided to call it quits and headed inside to get some sleep. Dallas never came home that night, and I ended up passing out on the front porch. It's been three days and no one has seen a sight of him. Me and Two-Bit have driven all over, asking if anyone's seen him. The gang's worried sick, especially Johnny. We all figure something's happened to him because he would have said goodbye to me or Johnny if he was leaving. All the time's I've told Dally that I don't worry about him and that he can handle himself are shot to hell now.

'**Come home, I'm worried.'**

END.

**There's chapter 11; I don't love it. I've had serious writer's block the past few days, ughhh. Reviews so I know it doesn't suck.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks to everyone whose been reviewing.**

**CHAPTER 12: **

The sun was shining in my eyes, and I woke up on the Curtis' couch where I had been laying with Two-Bit. It's been two weeks since Dally had been gone, and all of us are really confused and worried about where he's been. The phone rang and Darry jumped up from the table where he was eating breakfast to answer. After a couple of seconds, he caught me staring at him and shook his head, indicating that the call had nothing to do with Dally. Sighing, I got up and joined Johnny outside to smoke a cigarette.

"Where do you think he is?" Johnny asked me quietly.

"I don't know, kid," I told him, putting my arm across his shoulder to comfort him, "I just don't know."

Johnny wasn't taking this well at all. He thinks Dallas is never coming back.

"Well ain't that cute?" Tim Shepard jeered at us, kicking my foot lightly as he walked up the path with Curly.

"Hey boys," I said, ignoring Tim's comment, "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Darry around?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, in the house; what do you have to talk to him about?"

"Nothing," He responded walking in the house, leaving Curly with us.

I looked at Johnny who merely played with his pockets nervously like he always does. Curly sat down next to him and looked like he was nursing a hangover. Because Tim ran his gang and Darry "ran" ours, the three of us had to stay outside until we were told we were allowed to come in. That was the way it was in gangs; the leaders always talk first and then tell the rest of us. It keeps things simple and easier when first hearing the story.

"It's not about Winston; it's about a gang the next town over coming into our territory." Curly told me, his eyes indicating that his brother would whoop him if I said anything about it.

"Thanks," I said.

"He's fine, you know; Dallas always takes off and comes back." Curly said, "Last time he was gone for a month. You remember that, Johnny."

Johnny nodded. I was furious with Dally for making Johnny so sad; how could he leave him without saying anything to him? Dal knows I can take care of myself, but he's Johnny's hero. I guess I was mad that he left me too. After all, I'm supposed to be his girlfriend. That's kind of shot to hell now though; obviously Dal didn't give a damn about me.

"Looks like this is gunna take a while," I commented, "Let's go to the pool hall, I need money."

The two boys followed me and watched as I scammed twenty bucks from a couple opponents at the Dingo.

"Any other takers?" I asked with a cocky smile.

"How about me, baby?" I heard the oh-so-familiar voice of Dallas Winston.

Dal walked up to me cockily; fresh with bruises and wearing his trademark smirk. He messed up Johnny's hair as always and stood in front of me.

"Where you been?" I asked him casually while chalking up my pool stick.

"New York." He answered, like it was no big deal.

"Well either put some money down or get out of the way, I'm working here," I told him.

Everyone in the Dingo was watching us; Johnny's eyes were huge and he knew that I shouldn't be making Dally look stupid in front of all these people.

"Don't be like that," Dally said, stepping closer to me, but I backed away.

"Thompson," I said to a greaser near me, "You wanted next right?"

Thomspon shook his head and grabbed a pool stick while shooting a nervous glance at Dallas.

"Orion.." Dal started.

"Do you mind, I'm trying to break here." I interrupted, bending over to take my shot.

Dally grabbed me but I pushed him off of me.

"I'm playing a game, Winston, back off," I told him, knowing I was making him look like an idiot.

A couple of guys laughed and Dally grabbed the stick out of my hand and broke it in two. He stormed out of the Dingo, taking a swing at one of the greasers that had been brave enough to laugh at him.

"You shouldn't have done that," Curly said.

I shrugged and grabbed another pool stick so I could finish the game. On the outside, I was cool and collected; nothing could break me. On the inside, I was shaking. Yeah, I knew Dal deserved what I had given to him, but I knew he was going to get me back just as bad. Dal was angry and hurt with me; but I don't think he understood that I felt the same way. After I took Thompson, I collected my winnings and took off with Johnny and Curly to head on back to the Curtis'.

As I expected, all the gang and Tim were there on account of Dal being home. Dallas was telling them all about New York and the guys were all immersed his tale. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a coke; I could care less what Dally had been doing while he was there; all that mattered to me was he had been gone for two weeks and didn't give a damn that he had us all worried. I walked back out a couple of minutes later and took a seat next to Ponyboy.

"Curly says you hustled some of my boys out of their money today," Tim told me.

I shrugged and smirked, "They knew what they were in for."

"How much did you make?" Two-Bit asked me happily.

"Enough," I responded, "You wanna head home with me? I'm hungry."

Two-Bit nodded and we got up to leave.

"We'll be back y'all," Two-Bit said as we started to make our way over to the door.

Dally, however, stood up and blocked our way.

"Move out of the way," I said sternly.

"No, I wanna talk to you," he answered.

"I don't wanna talk to you," I responded.

"Stop being like this and talk to me!" Dal screamed, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me a little bit, like it would help un-mix my thoughts or something. Two-Bit was about to push Dally off of me but I told him no.

"What do you wanna talk about, Dal? How you left for two weeks without saying goodbye or calling anyone and telling us where the hell you were? How you made us all worried sick over you because we were thinking something happened? How you made Johnny think you were never coming back?" I yelled angrily.

Everyone just stood there, looking stunned. Dally was speechless and Johnny looked horrified that I had brought him into it.

"You go through life doing whatever you damn well please without caring about anyone else. Sylvia and all those other girls may have gone along with that, but I won't. I'm a person, Dal, treat me like it," I told him, as I started to take his ring off.

Dallas swore and threw the coffee table across the room, almost nailing Soda and Steve. He was swearing and throwing things everywhere. When Dal walked over to me, I was terrified.

"I'm not letting you do this!" Dally screamed.

I started to tell him that yes, I was, but he punched the wall inches from my face, causing me to flinch and fall silent.

"That's enough, Dally," Darry said firmly, "You're scaring her."

Dallas looked at me then; he saw my eyes were wide with fright, how I was breathing heavy and my body was all tight.

"I need to talk to you alone," Dally gasped, opening the door and beginning to pull me out of the house.

The gang went to stop him, but I said it was fine. Dal half-dragged me all the way to the lot. His eyes were wild and his hair was all a mess; he looked good and that's what scared me.

"You thought, I was gunna hit you," Dally said after a few moments of silence.

I looked away, not sure how I wanted to answer that question right now. Dallas placed his hands under my chin and made it so I was looking at him.

"I would never hit you," He told me gently.

I leaned up and kissed Dal then. To this day, I don't know why I did it. He smiled into the kiss and pulled me tightly against him. Nothing had ever felt better than this kiss. We kissed for a while before I came back to my senses and pulled away.

"I can't do this," I whispered, "I can't be with you."

Dallas' smiled faded.

"Orion, I'm sorry, okay? I'm not used to having a girl that cares if I up and leave without a word. Whenever I leave, they just move on."

"Well, I do care. The gang does too. We were worried, Dally," I told him.

Dal ran his fingers through his hair. I smiled; he looked real good when he did that. He caught me watching him and looked at me questioningly.

"You look cute when you do that," I said.

"Cute?" He said wrinkling his nose in disgust.

I laughed at this; Dally smiled.

"You gunna give me another chance?" Dallas asked me tensely after a couple of minutes.

I bit my lip and looked at him.

"Yeah, don't make me regret it though. Please."

I hated the pleading sound of my voice, but I knew that it was what made Dally see how he had hurt me, for he pulled me into a tight embrace and kissed my forehead. He didn't let go for a long time. When he did, we headed back to the Curtis' house hand in hand.

"So is our favorite couple back together?" Two-Bit asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah," Dally said, answering simply before sitting down on the couch and pulling me down on his lap.

That night we all just hung out at the Curtis', playing cards and shooting the breeze; even Curly and Tim stayed for a while. Dallas told Johnny how he was getting to be almost as good as he was at poker and the kid positively glowed with pride. When it got to be late, we headed out so Darry could rest up for work.

"I'm just gunna drop you off, darling, cause I got a date with Tracie," Two-Bit told me.

I told Two-Bit it was a little late for a "date" and he laughed.

"I'll take her," Dallas told Two-Bit.

Two-Bit nodded and kissed me on the cheek goodbye. Dally looked like he was about to murder him.

"Oh stop it, you know he didn't mean nothing by it; he's like my best friend"

"Guess I gotta get used to the gang touching you sometimes," Dal said, sighing.

We talked about that the entire way home; Dally was all worked up about the gang hugging me and other things like that. It was funny to see him so stressed out about it.

"Stop laughing," He told me.

I shook my head no and Dal threw me over his shoulder and walked with me into the house. Sarah was home and so were Emily and her boyfriend. They all laughed when they saw us.

"You're back?" Emily asked Dally.

"Yeah, just got back today, kid," he responded.

"Good, you can keep an eye on these two; I've got work. Drive him home then, Dallas?" Sarah told us.

Dal nodded and she kissed us both on the cheek goodbye, which was funny because I was upside down.

"Your ma knows the score," Dal told Emily.

We hung out with Emily and Luke, her boyfriend, for a while before Dal drove him home.

"So, it's official now?" I asked Emily with a smile.

The girl blushed because I had asked in front of Dally.

"I really like him."

Emily went to bed after about a half an hour, leaving me and Dal alone in the living room. I laid down on the couch with my head in Dally's lap and he played with my hair while we watched a movie. I guess I didn't realize how tired I was because the next thing I knew, Dallas was shaking me awake.

"Come on, baby, let's get you to bed,"

I just mumbled something and fell back to sleep. Dal must have tired of trying to wake me up because he picked me up and took me into my room. He set me down on the bed.

Dally said night and got up to leave; I grabbed his hand and looked up at him. Dal knew that I wanted him to stay. Turning my back to him, Dallas took of his shirt before he got into bed and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me securely against him. He nestled his head into my neck.

"I'm glad you're home," I told him.

Dallas didn't say anything; he just pulled me closer, if that was even possible.

**THE END.**

**Well there you go, a long chapter for you guys. Reviews.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks to Iheartponyboy33's review about Johnny; I wasn't trying to make Johnny look like a baby; it was just made clear in the books that Dal was his hero, so in my writing I assumed he would be upset over Dally being gone and Orion bringing up that he was upset would make Dal compliment him about the poker game, as he has always had a soft spot for Johnny. However, I will make sure to tone it down in the future. If you don't like something about the story, everyone, tell me.. I can take it; haha. Anyway, here we go with—**

**CHAPTER 13:**

The next morning I actually woke up and went to school. I hadn't been there in a while and it turned out that Two-Bit and I, who are conveniently in most of the same classes despite our age difference, were failing math.

"Well, looks like we got nothing left to accomplish here then," Two-Bit told our teacher.

Mrs. Willow was always afraid of the greasers; she looked absolutely terrified at the two of us standing before her after being told that there was no way we could pass the course. I think she thought we were going to take a swing at her or something. Truth was, neither Two-Bit or myself cared that much.

"Shall we go?" Two-Bit asked me, offering me an arm.

I linked my arm with his and we made our way out of the classroom, saying goodbye to Mrs. Willow on the way out. It made sense to take the day off after hearing such bad news about us failing.

"Where to?" I asked Two-Bit once we had made it out of the school parking lot.

His car gave a ferocious buck and we realized we were running on empty.

"To the DX for gas I guess," He responded with a wry smile.

The DX was almost empty, as most of Soda's admirers were at school.

"Hey y'all," Soda yelled over to us when we got out of the car.

We said our greetings and Two-Bit filled up his tank. For a while, we just smoked cigarettes and talked before Two-Bit decided we needed to scrounge up something to do. Something to do came in the form of buying some liquor and getting good and drunk before school even let out. Once it did, we picked up Pony and Johnny and headed to the Curtis'. All of us just sat there, Two-Bit and I passing the bottle, waiting for some more people to get home so we could play baseball in the lot. When I stood up to grab something to eat from the kitchen, I became aware of how truly drunk I was. As I ate a piece of chocolate cake in the kitchen, I could hear the rest of the guys arrive. Darry was happy that we wanted to play baseball and I smiled; that guy hardly ever gets to have fun. Dally asked about me and walked into the kitchen when he found out I was in there.

"Hey babe," He said, walking over to me, "What're you doing out here all alone?"

I explained my situation, finding it pretty funny at the current time.

"You a little drunk, baby?"

Nodding, I pulled Dally close to me and kissed him furiously. His hands found their way to my waist, closing the small gap between us.

"Get a room!" Steve yelled when he walked into the kitchen, causing us to pull apart.

We both laughed and walked back out into the living room; well, Dally walked, I staggered.

"Y'all ready to go?" Soda asked energetically, "Come on, everyone, get up! Let's play."

Soda reminded me of a puppy playing fetch and I couldn't help but laugh at him. He turned to me and asked what was so funny. After I told him, he started chasing me all around the house and I ran out the door and made my way to the lot, with the gang all fresh on my heels.

"Not bad for being wasted," Two-Bit told me with a wink, passing me the bottle.

I laughed and tripped him, sending him sprawling. Two-Bit got up and tackled me, knocking the wind straight out of me.

"Asshole, you weigh a ton," I said once I regained my air supply.

Two-Bit pretended to get all offended and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at me. We were amusing everyone, including ourselves. After a few minutes, we got the game going, though me and Two-Bit weren't of much use to either team, so we ended up just playing catch by ourselves.

"Man I feel like a reject," I told Two-Bit loudly enough for the gang to hear.

Soda made fun of me then and I turned to look at him just as Two-Bit through the ball. Needless to say, I got clobbered in the head.

"Oh my god," A worried Two-Bit shouted, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," I said, rubbing at the small bump that had already formed.

Nothing exciting happened that night; I was in a bad mood from getting hit with the ball and I was drunk so I just went home early and passed out on the armchair. I woke up the next morning and went to school. Two-Bit had come home late last night and had passed out cold on the floor in front of the television. He drove me to school, but didn't go himself because of his hangover. Two-Bit thought I was mad at him for throwing the ball at me, but I was just really hungover and my head hurt. I went through the motions of school: go to class, bell rings, go to next class. During Mrs. Willow's class I went up to the roof and smoked cigarettes; there's no point in going if I'm going to fail. I met up with Pony and Johnny during lunch period and we walked over to the DX. Soda and Steve gave us each a coke and we sat around.

"You okay, Orion?" Soda asked me after a couple of minutes.

I said yes because I knew my bad mood would shake off soon enough; right now I missed my mother, Jesse, my brother, and everyone else back home. When it got to be about time to head back, the three of us started walking back to school. Pony was telling us about how Darry had gotten a raise.

"That's great, Ponyboy," I told him, sincerely happy about something for the first time today.

"Either of you two got a cigarette? I smoked the rest of my pack today," I asked.

"Yeah," Johnny said, fishing out a cigarette from the pocket of his jean jacket.

I told him thanks and lit up. Once we got back to the school, we all went our separate ways; I didn't have any classes with the two boys. The rest of school went by slowly. Luckily, my hangover and headache had passed or else I wouldn't have made it. I wish I was like Pony, who actually liked sitting through this everyday. Without Two-Bit here with me, school was just plain dull. Two-Bit came to pick us up after school. I was grateful; I didn't feel like walking home.

"Two-Bit stop! Your sister's boyfriend is getting jumped," Ponyboy yelled after a couple of minutes in the car.

Sure enough, a couple of guys were kicking the shit out of Luke. Two-Bit pulled over and we all got out; he yelled for me to go find Emily. Knowing the guys had it under control, I went in search for Emily, hoping that Luke had told her to run so she could get away safe and praying that one of the jumpers hadn't gone after her. I took off down the street, looking in alleyways and checking in stores to see if she had run into a store for help. My hunch was right, and I spotted her in the drug store on the corner telling some of the Shepard gang what was happening. She must have just gotten there, which meant that Luke probably wasn't going to be in too bad of shape. The guys went to take off but I stopped them.

"It's okay, her brother got it under control," I told them.

The guys nodded and I left to go make sure the guys didn't need any help finishing up. By the time we got back, Luke was on his feet and their opponents had fled. I blotted at Pony's cheek with my jean jacket; he had been cut up a little.

"Pretty tuff," I told him.

Ponyboy smiled slightly and the two of us looked over at Emily and Luke.

"You okay, kid?" I asked him.

"Yeah, think I messed up my knuckles though," Luke answered truthfully.

Two-Bit shrugged and said things like that happen and then asked who the guys that had jumped him were.

"I don't know; I've never seen them around before." Luke replied.

"Must be that gang Curly was talking about," I said quietly to Johnny, who nodded, remembering the conversation on the porch we'd had. To the rest of the group I said, "We should probably go tell Darry."

Everyone agreed, so we all piled into Two-Bit's car and headed over to the Curtis' after dropping Luke and Emily off at our house. Darry got home about an hour after we did and we told him the news.

"Yeah, Tim mentioned something about a gang from Brownstone coming in and causing trouble. Guess we just gotta keep our heads up, y'all." Darry concluded.

There really wasn't much we could do about the situation as of yet. Just don't travel alone and keep your eye out. We all did that already anyway. Two-Bit looked a little perturbed about something.

"What's up?" I asked him, nudging at his arm.

"It's my sister. She could have easily gotten really hurt today."

"It happens, man. Kids like us get jumped all the time; besides she ain't a sissy or anything, Emily can hold her own." I said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Two-Bit replied, sounding a little doubtful.

"Emily's a good kid; she'll be okay." Darry told Two-Bit.

This all seemed to ease Two-Bit, and he shifted back into his normal mode of utter happiness and chaos. Two-Bit was like that, though; he doesn't do upset well so he always bounces back to his old self. I was lost in my thoughts and didn't even notice Dallas and Steve come in a few minutes later till I felt Dally give me a kiss.

"Hey," I said with a small smile.

"What's wrong?" Dal asked me; I guess it's not hard for everyone to tell when I'm not in the best of moods.

"Nothing," I said, cuddling up into Dally's chest, seeking comfort.

Dal rubbed my back absently and participated in the conversation with the rest of the gang. I just sat there, glad that Dallas was taking away the loneliness that I had felt all day. How long I sat there with Dal, I don't know, but after a while he asked me if I wanted to head back to Two-Bit's and get some sleep. I nodded and we got up to leave; Two-Bit said he would be coming home later. Dal slipped his leather jacket over my arms and lit us both up a cigarette, handing me mine. We began to walk and I felt Dally staring at me.

"What?" I asked him anxiously.

"You look good in my jacket," He said.

I smiled and put my arm around his waist while Dally hung his over my shoulder. We looked right together, everybody said so. The only thing that scared me sometimes was Dally's lady killer reputation. If there was one thing I was sure of, it was that I would not end up like my mother, with a man that didn't treat her right.

"Tell me what's wrong, you're being so quiet," Dally told me, looking worried.

I told Dal that I didn't know that I was just tired. In truth, I didn't really feel like talking about my mom, or Jesse, or even my brother. Talking wouldn't solve anything, I knew that.

"I'm your boyfriend, you should tell me," Dal urged.

I sighed, he had a point there.

"I'm not really sure why I'm upset," I told him.

Dal got aggravated and didn't talk to me for the rest of the way home; he thought that I wasn't telling him something; that I was keeping a secret from him. Instead of coming into my room, Dal opted to sleep on the couch, claiming it was "more comfortable." I went into my room and couldn't stop thinking about everything that was bothering me. After a half an hour, I walked out into the living room to find Dally watching TV.

"You can't sleep either?" I asked him.

He simply nodded and didn't look away from the screen.

"I miss my mom and Jesse," I told him after a couple seconds of silence, "but I don't wanna talk about it."

This got his attention. He walked over to me and kissed me on the lips.

"That's all you had to say." He said.

I put my arms around Dally and waited for his strong embrace. When it came, I instantly relaxed and felt better.

"Come on, baby," Dal said lightly, leading me to my room.

I laid down, with my head on Dally's chest. With him next to me, sleep came easily.

**Well there you go; chapter 13. Not sure how I like it as a whole. It has it's moments.**

**:-, writer's blocks no fun, sorry everyone. Please no flames on this chapter unless you have a detailed opinion about it, I know it's not my best.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Mkay, sorry its been so long.**

**CHAPTER 14:**

That week nothing happened until Wednesday. On Wednesday, I got arrested for going into a bar and hustling an undercover cop in a game of pool. If he would have won, I don't think I would have got arrested. I'm sure that me gambling and being in a bar underage had nothing to do with it; he was just plain mad that I whooped him. So, here I sit, waiting to get signed out by my parent/guardian. I really wish Sarah could be considered my guardian because I would have been out of here four days ago. But no, my father is my guardian, and this cell will be home until he decides to come on up to Tulsa to get me the hell out of here. Sitting in jail waiting for my father is nothing new to me, though; there were a couple times growing up that me and my brother got in trouble and he had us sit there to "think about what we've done." In truth, it was easier to just let us rot away in our cell than it was to come pick us up; at least that way he knew where we were. When he gets here, I'm going to get my ass handed to me.

"How you doing, sweety?" A drunken woman said to me, interrupting my thoughts, as she was put into the stall with me; it was a Friday night so a lot of drunks had been brought in.

Looking around me, I couldn't help but smile inwardly. How the hell was I sitting in here with these bar sluts?

"You're a little young to be working the bars," the woman persisted as she plopped down next to me.

I smirked, "I ain't in there for that."

She merely nodded and got comfortable; it was obvious she's a regular around here.

"Let's go, kid; you're out," the guard said to me.

Nodding, I rose from my seat and couldn't help but smile.

'**Freedom.'**

When I got out, everyone was there, even Sarah and Emily. Of course, I knew my father was somewhere around here too, since he had to have signed me out for me to be let go.

"Get over here," I heard his gruff voice yell, as I had started to head over to my friends.

"Thanks for coming to get me," I said awkwardly; he was drunk, hell he was always drunk, but I knew my father was mad enough without me mouthing off.

My father laughed and walked over to me, grabbing me and slamming me against the wall.

"What would your mother think of you if she saw you like this? She'd fall right back into her grave."

My eyes blazed in anger and the world turned to grey just like it always did when I was about to take a swing at someone. It was taking all I had not to punch my father in his face.

"Yeah, stay angry, kid. You're gunna need it when I'm kicking the living daylights out of you," He taunted me.

Luckily for me, a cop walked outside to go patrolling and my father had to set me down. I rubbed at my neck, knowing his hand marks would be there tomorrow as a reminder. My father told me to get in the car. I was torn between taking off running right now and putting as much space as I could between my father and I. Deep down, I knew I wasn't going anywhere just yet; there was too much that I had here in Tulsa.

"How about you two just meet us back at the house?" Sarah asked, faking like she had no idea that my father hit me.

My father said that would be fine and that we would be over in a few minutes. It was a lie, obviously, but one he didn't have to tell because it was blatantly clear that I was going to get roughed up. Sarah herded all everyone back into their cars, but Dallas stood where he was, saying that he was going to ride with me and my father.

"You know if you do anything you're gunna wind yourself in jail, Dallas, now get in the car," Sarah told him firmly, "It's not worth it."

With one more look at me, Dal reluctantly got in the car.

"Well ain't that cute?" My dad mocked me as we got into his pick up.

I chose to ignore him and grabbed a cigarette out of the pack on the dashboard and lit it up. My father could barely keep himself on our side of the road and I was holding on for dear life.

"Have a few too many tonight, pop?" I asked amusedly.

My father's reaction to that was slamming my head against the passenger side window, causing my nose to bleed.

"Shit!" I yelled wiping away the blood with my hand.

"Oh calm the hell down, you act like you ain't ever bled that much before, kid."

This is exactly why I can't stand to be called kid. My father has called me kid since I can remember. My brother has always been called Patrick, but I have always been called kid.

We pulled over a few blocks away from Two-Bit's house. It was pretty obvious what was coming next. My father walked around to my side of the truck and opened the door, dragging me out, mumbling something about driving all the way down here, how I'm such a disgrace for a child, etc, etc. I shot back some remarks myself and pretty soon the beating started. I fought back this time; anger was surging through my body after what he'd said about my mother.

By the time it was over, the both of us looked like shit. It amazed me that I could two or three people in a fight, but I could never beat my father because I could never try as hard against him; I swear that it's going to bother me until the day I die. I felt myself getting picked up off of the ground, and I was shocked since I didn't even know I was on the ground. My father handed me some whiskey and a lit cigarette.

"You're getting better," He said exhaustedly.

I looked curiously at my father then. He never took any notice to anything that I did. I shook my head to, trying to turn the world from grey back to color. For a moment, we just stood there taking everything in before my father got into his truck and left me. My body was aching, I didn't feel too hot. I lied back down on the sidewalk to catch my breath, and I finished off the whiskey, grateful that it would soon be numbing the pain. The cool air cleared my head and the world was once again decked out in color; well, as much color as you see on this side of town. The walk to Two-Bit's felt like it took years. My head was swimming from the whiskey; I was thinking about my life in Stillwater and my life in Tulsa and all the people that played apart in both. Then I laughed; here I am drunk and beaten and I'm becoming all philosophical. Shoot me.

Sirens filled the air and my instinct told me to run and so that's what I did. I ran all the way to Two-Bit's house. When I got there, things went as I presumed that they would. Sarah had a fit and babied me for a while and got me all cleaned up. The gang got furious and called my father every name under the sun. Emily sat there in a stupor, probably wondering if her father would hit her like this if he was around. The gang hung around for a while longer, before Darry suggested that they leave so I could get some rest.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired," I admitted.

Everyone, with the exclusion of Two-Bit and Dally, got up and left after giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, while Sarah headed to work and Emily went up to bed. Two-Bit went to check on Emily after a few minutes; he too knew of Emily's curiosity about her father and wanted to console her, leaving Dally and I alone. I buried my head in my hands and wished the room would stop spinning so fast.

"I hate when that happens," Dal said, causing me to jump because I hadn't felt him sit down next to me.

I got shivers as Dal leaned in and started to kiss my neck.

"I want you, Orion," he whispered.

"Dal, I don't think.."

Dally silenced me by kissing me and laying me down on the couch; his hands were running up and down my sides gently so he wouldn't hurt me. We made out for a while, but when I felt Dal start to take off my pants, I stopped him.

"What?" Dal asked, clearly annoyed.

It was then that I noticed how truly drunk my boyfriend was. Obviously, I knew he'd had a couple of beers, but his eyes were all glassy and bloodshot, indicating that he was more wasted then I'd known.

"I really care about you," Dally told me, trying to convince me to go into my bedroom with him.

"Stop it, Dallas; you're drunk," I demanded, getting annoyed myself.

Did he really think I needed to deal with his drunkenness today? Dally smirked and told me he wasn't drunk, which was obviously not true because he passed out with his head in my lap a few minutes later.

"He got really drunk waiting for you. Darry had to keep forcing him back in the house. He was really worried," Two-Bit told me from the bottom of the steps.

I jumped for the second time that night; these boys need to quit sneaking up on me.

"Well I was hoping that my boyfriend would be sober or at least not completely drunk after I got beat up by my father," I said angrily.

Since I had a reputation to protect, I left out the part that I had wanted Dally to fall asleep holding me, so I could feel safe.

"Do you know how hard it is for all of us to sit back while you get beat up by your dad? Imagine how hard it is for Dally," Two-Bit told me simply.

I sighed; I know he had a point. After all, I felt the same way with Johnny, Steve, and my friends back home.

"Help me get him into my bed?" I asked Two-Bit finally.

Two-Bit smiled at me, "Sure, darling."

"You're my best friend," I said randomly.

Two-Bit's smile got even wider as he helped my drag Dally into the bedroom.

"Ain't you going to bed?" I asked when Two-Bit began walking out the door.

"Hell no, with you in jail all I've done is go to school and sleep. I'm just going to go watch some TV. Night sweetheart."

I laughed a little bit, causing Dally to stir.

"Orion?" He mumbled.

"Yeah it's me," I responded.

"I love you."

My body froze. Dal wrapped his arms around me and buried his head in the crook of my neck, where he again passed out a couple moments later.

'**What?'**

END.

**Well there you go. Reviews please. I'm pretty happy with this chapter, especially because I just typed it all out totally not knowing where I was going with it.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks for the reviews; means a lot to get good ones. I honestly didn't know how long I was going to keep with this story, but because you guys seem to like it I've kept at it. **

**CHAPTER 15:**

Well, here it is Sunday night and Dally and I still haven't talked about what happened Friday night. Hell, I don't even know if he remembers. It's not like we've had any time alone either because I've been with the gang all weekend since they claim that they missed me so much for those four days. Plus, Dal's been drinking himself into oblivion every night, leaving no time to talk about it once we got home. Last night, Two-Bit and I left him on the Curtis' couch, where he had passed out. Tonight we had all gone to the movies and then over to the Dingo. Everyone had wanted to hear about my getting arrested, so I was the center of attention and didn't have much time for Dally, who left for Buck's without even saying goodbye. This all gave me plenty of reason to be angry when Dal stumbled into Two-Bit's a little after midnight and passed out cold on the floor right in front of Soda, Two-Bit, Emily, Luke, and myself.

"Goddamn it," I said as I looked at my unconscious boyfriend lying there.

"Want me to lay him on your bed?" Two-Bit asked.

"No, the floor will suit him just fine for tonight," I said, pissed off that Dally had been drinking to the point of passing out for the past three nights.

"Let's go for a ride," I told Soda and Two-Bit.

They agreed so we just went driving up and down the strip; hollering at people we knew and some we didn't, passing a bottle back and forth, and smoking way too many cigarettes. Soda may not have drank much when he was with Sandy, but since she left him, the boy drinks his fair share of booze. We were out till almost dawn, and I went home exhausted and happy; I had needed a fun night.

Dal was still on the floor where we had left him, but Emily had covered him up with a blanket. She was a sweetheart like that; I would have preferred he was left blanket-less. Commotion in the name of Darry woke us all up the next morning. I walked out of my room with Two-Bit in tow, and we heard Soda getting scolded about how he had work in fifteen minutes. Soda pulled on his shoes and mumbled things under his breath; I distinctly heard the words hangover and sick day. Darry gave us a 'hey y'all' before heading out the door after his younger brother. He eyed Dally on the floor and raised his eyebrows before taking off. Since we were already up and it was a Monday, Two-Bit and I opted for school over sitting around the house and swung by to get Pony and Johnny.

Nothing exciting happened at school, mainly because NOTHING ever happens at school.

"You hear about the Brownstone gang jumping Curly and that soc Josh?" Pony asked us as we piled into Two-Bit's car once the last bell had rung.

We hadn't, so Pony told us the story and we listened intently. It turns out, the Stones, as the Brownstone gang so creatively called themselves, were jumping anyone they could: soc and greaser included. They had even brought their girls with them and Evie had told me that they were tough as nails. I figured it wouldn't be too long till I met up with a few of them, and I hoped they knew I'd bring them hell. Girls never were in the gangs, so it was a strange concept to me to know they were linking themselves together like that. Sure, girls are classified soc/grease just as they were in my old neighborhood, but you only technically "belonged" to a gang if you had relations within it, whether it be friend, family, or boyfriend. This stirred up conversation till we arrived at Pony's house. Tim, Dal, and Curly were sitting in the living room; the Shepard boys were most likely waiting for Darry again.

"Well look what the cat dragged in," Two-Bit joked, pointing at an almost unrecognizable Curly.

"Damn, did you even fight back?" I remarked with a smirk

Curly shot daggers at the two of us before telling me I looked like shit too. I feigned hurt and watched as Dally got up out of his seat and advanced upon Curly.

"Oh, so I am still your girlfriend after all?" I asked Dal cockily, "Glad to see you only act like it when I get insulted."

Dally just stared at me, stunned, and I asked for Two-Bit for his keys. He tossed them to me and I got in the car and was about to drive off before Dal opened the door and jumped into the passenger's seat.

"Mind tellin' me what the hell that was about?" He asked.

"Mind telling me why you've been getting ridiculously drunk every night?" I countered.

Dally sat quietly for a second and I glanced over at him out of the corner of my eye, hoping to see if he remembered what he'd said to me that night; I couldn't read him though. There was an awkward silence that followed; the only sound that could be heard was the loudness of Two-Bit's shitty engine.

"I'm really sorry about what I tried with you on Friday," Dally said quickly, "I shouldn't have tried to push you like that."

"You were drunk," I told him, "it's fine; nothing happened."

"If it's fine then why won't you look at me?" Dal asked.

"Because I'm driving," knowing that he would feel like a moron.

"Pull over."

Sighing, I pulled over in front of a bar.

"What?" I asked him, "Care to go down a few more beers again tonight?"

"I meant what I said the other night night; you know what I'm talking about." Dal told me, looking out his window with a small smile on his face; pleased that he had finally gotten it out.

"How do you know?" I asked him.

Dallas laughed at me for a second; I guess it was my turn to feel like a moron.

"Because you get me better than any girl I've ever been with; you're right for me."

He said it so simply and without all that sappy stuff that neither of us could stand.

"You don't have to say it back or anything." Dal said irritably after I had been silent for a few minutes.

I looked at him with my mouth hanging open.

"I, uh, I don't know if.."

I never got to answer him; Dallas was out of the car and out of sight before my sentence was even complete. The truth was, I had no idea if I was in love with Dally or not; life was just so hectic I didn't get much of a chance to think about it. My current mission was to find Sodapop; he was the only person I knew that had truly been in love before. We needed to have a serious talk.

**END.**

**Yeah, a little shorter then the last few had been, but I'm trying to think of how I want all of this to play out. Reviews are always appreciated. **


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16:**

It turned out Sodapop had a date with some pretty little brunette girl tonight, so it looks like I'll have to wait till tomorrow to have that talk with him.

"What's the matter?" Ponyboy asked me as I sat down on the couch in between him and Two-Bit, feeling like hell.

"Nothing," I said with a sigh.

I hung out at the Curtis' for a while; Darry had Two-Bit and I over for dinner. I was grateful since I haven't really been eating that much lately. After that, I just sat out on the porch with Pony, smoking cigarette after cigarette. It turned out that Ponyboy was having a bad day himself. I guess that saying's true then: misery does love company. That's the thing I liked best about Ponyboy; you could sit with him for hours and not feel like you have to say anything. Even with quiet people like Johnny I feel the need to talk, but Pony is different; he's got imagination and I wish I could be more like that. All I see is reality; it would be nice to get away once in a while like he can. When it got to be a bit later, Two-Bit and I left so Pony could do his homework and Darry could get some rest for work the next morning. We bought a bottle and sat at the lot passing it back and forth, as I told Two-Bit what was going on.

"Well I'll be damned," Two-Bit said, letting out a low whistle.

Neither of us knew what to make of the situation, and the only advice Two-Bit had to give was for me to finish off the bottle and head on over to him to Buck's to have some fun. I agreed and downed the bottle, happy to know that I'd soon be forgetting my problems. Buck's was out of control, as usual, and Two-Bit and I stumbled to the dance floor and danced for a few songs. After a while, Two-Bit slung an arm around my shoulders and we made our way to the kitchen to grab a few beers. I stopped when I saw Dally playing poker with Buck and Tim. For once, a soda was in place of his usual beer.

"Well, hey Dally!" Two-Bit shouted stupidly.

If looks could kill, Two-Bit would be dead right about now. Dal greeted him and then looked over at me before getting up and leaving the room. Two-Bit raised his eyebrows and shrugged. I let him go; I didn't know what to say to Dally right now.

"You wanna just head home baby?" Two-Bit asked me.

I nodded and we nipped a few beers from the fridge and began our walk home. We noticed that a boy and a girl were following us after about a block of walking. Stealing a glance at Two-Bit, he nodded and I knew that these two were members of the Brownstone gang. We smiled at each other as well; we knew we could take them with ease. The two were walking faster then us, and soon caught up with our casual gait.

"Hey y'all," I said with a nod.

The two smirked.

"You know it's dangerous to walk in such a small group at night," the boy said.

I looked at him; his eyes were full of hate for the world, his face was scarred and contorted into a look of anger, and his clothes were dirty and torn. The girl looked very similar. It was obvious that they had been dealt a bad hand and had rallied together to take it out on whoever they could. This really got me mad; I got it rough too, you don't see me jumping someone for the hell of it.

"Yeah, y'all should probably get some more friends together," Two-Bit mocked.

I laughed.

"We were waiting outside the party; a couple of us went after every person that left," the girl said; now it was their turn to laugh.

Our anger now matched theirs, as we had a lot of friends at that party, particularly Dally. I noticed Two-Bit out of the corner of my eye and I knew that he'd had enough talking; it was time to prove that we could take whatever the Stones could throw our way. My world turned grey as I pushed the girl backwards hard.

"You're gunna be sorry you ever met me, sweetheart," I told her.

She never got to reply to that statement. My anger was obvious in every punch and I made sure to mark her up pretty damn good. Two-Bit had done the same; we were here to show their leader that our territory was not open to them. There hadn't been much damage done to either of us. The girl had gotten one good punch, so I'd probably have a black eye tomorrow, but that was about it. Two-Bit had a scratch on his cheek, but was smiling happily so I knew he was fine.

"We showed them," Two-Bit said triumphantly.

High off the fight, the two of us laughed and walked home, having a good old time. Steve and Soda were there, apparently waiting for us after their dates tonight. We gave a ring over to Buck's, letting them know what was going on, and a bunch of guys went outside and took it to those bastards. Buck said Dally had asked if I was okay and I had hung up the phone. Dallas called back, but I had Two-Bit talk to him. That's about when Soda grabbed me lightly by the arm and led me to the front porch.

"Now, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Soda asked, obviously knowing it had to do with Dally now.

I told him that Dal had said he loved me and that he was mad that I hadn't said it back.

"I guess what I was wondering was how you know if you're in love with someone," I said quickly.

Now, I'm not really the sensitive type, so I could feel my face reddening over talking about this. Soda grinned and put an arm over my shoulders. He then explained to me how he knew he was in love with Sandy; about how it killed him to think of her with anyone else, how even after the worst day seeing her made it better, and that no matter what mistakes she made he would still have been with her. Soda said that last part sadly, and I rubbed his back comfortingly; if I ever met Sandy I would rough her up real good for all the pain she's caused him. We talked for a while more, until I found the answer I was looking for.

"I love him too," I said quietly.

Soda smiled broadly, "Looks like you better tell him then."

"Yeah, tomorrow."

Two-Bit and I crashed on the Curtis' couch that night. Darry woke us up the next morning.

"School?" He asked simply.

I looked at Two-Bit and we laughed for a moment before falling back asleep. Darry chuckled to himself as he left to take his brothers to school and work. Sometime later, I woke up to the door slamming. My eyes popped open and I saw Dally, Tim, and few more members of the Shepard gang standing before me. Two-Bit swore loudly from the kitchen so I figured he was attempting to cook. Dally was purposely avoiding my gaze.

"What time is it?" I grumbled.

"It's about one thirty; nice eye," Tim told me.

I rolled my eyes and walked into the bathroom to check out my eye; it wasn't that bad, which was good. Walking back out, I began fiddling with the knots in my hair, trying to get it straightened out. The guys had sat down around the living room talking. Two-Bit had given up on cooking and switched on the radio for some music; the Beatles were playing and all the guys wrinkled their noses in disgust. I happen to like the Beatles, so I danced around the room and sang the lyrics

"Help, I need somebody. Help, not just anybody. Help, you know I need someone. Help."

I shook my blonde hair all around, and Two-Bit soon joined in.

"You have so much hair," Two-Bit told me when our little dance session was over; Dally and the Shepards were looking at us like we were crazy.

"Umm, thanks?" I said, not sure whether it was a compliment or not.

Two-Bit didn't respond and just started swishing my hair around.

"Is that necessary?"

"Absolutely," Two-Bit replied with an evil grin.

"Okay, just checking."

It was then that Tommy, one of the Shepards, spilled his drink all over my shirt.

"Shit, sorry," the boy apologized.

I told him it was nothing and took my shirt off, leaving me in the black wife beater I had on, immediately regretting my decision because all eyes were now on me. The damage my father had done was still on my body and they all caught a glimpse of my ribs, which were completely destroyed. My eyes met Dally's, who looked away with furiousness burning in his eyes.

"What the hell?" Tim stated.

"Got it in a fight," I said, leaving out who I had been fighting with.

They all left it at that and the Shepards left after a little while to go get something to eat and Two-Bit "conveniently" had to go home to clean his room right when they left as well, leaving me and Dally alone. An awkward silence ensued and I was never more uncomfortable around him before.

"So, how come you weren't drinking last night?" I asked curiously and in attempt to stop the silence.

"I didn't wanna do something stupid," Dal told me honestly.

I knew he was referring to hooking up with a girl and I smiled at him; Dal didn't return it and instead went into the bathroom and took a shower. He came out clad in only a towel, stopping so I could get a good look before going into Soda and Pony's room to grab some clothes. The entire time I wanted to tell Dallas how I felt, but something was holding me back. When he came back out his hair was all disheveled and I couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" Dal asked me confusedly.

Automatically, I walked over to him and fixed his hair just like I always would; he lightly grabbed my hand and I looked into his eyes. Dal bit his bottom lip and I know he was debating between kissing me and not; I know he would have, but the only problem was that he thought I didn't care about him. Seeing him like this was killing me and I knew it was now or never.

"I love you," I said quickly, looking away embarrassed.

Dallas looked a little taken aback but soon regained his composure. The frown he'd been wearing around me for the past two days lifted and he smiled, pulling me close and kissing me. Things weren't awkward any more after that; the gang all showed up and we had a big dinner and cracked up over Two-Bit's ridiculous stories. Dal and I drove home at around midnight, dropping Two-Bit at Tracie's. I was exhausted so I went straight into my room while Dal quick drove Sarah to work; I guess Two-Bit had forgotten he was supposed to do that today. About ten minutes after I'd lain down, I felt Dally get into bed with me. He touched my back with his hands and I jumped at the coldness and the fact that he'd hit a bruise. Dallas lifted up my shirt to get a better look and I tried to pull away, but he was stronger and wrapped one of his arms around me. When he advanced to my ribs, I saw the anger burning in his eyes.

"Jesus, I'm afraid to hold you," Dally said.

I pushed Dal onto the bed so he was laying down and put my head on his chest.

"There we go," I stated.

Dally laughed and played with my hair. Everything was good; I had missed falling asleep with him. We were both drifting off and I nestled more into Dal, glad that things were finally okay. Early that morning, we awoke to a drunken Sarah coming into our room and shaking me awake.

"Baby, get up," she told me, "I need to talk to you."

I got up and walked out into the living room with Sarah, shooting a questioning look at Dally; the clock on the wall red 3:55.

"What's up?" I asked.

Sarah handed me a shot and I started to protest, but she cut me off.

"Drink it." She demanded.

Dal came into the kitchen, wondering what the hell was going on. Shrugging, I poured the liquid down my throat and Sarah poured me another. This continued until I'd had six shots and even then it took a lot of convincing to get Sarah to stop.

"Really, I'm set," I told her; knowing I'd be feeling those shots in a few minutes.

I lit up a cigarette and waited for Sarah to get down to her story. When I looked up at her, there were tears running down her face.

"He left me," She said in a shaky voice.

"Your boyfriend?" I asked.

For the past few months, Sarah has been dating this guy Jerry. Two-Bit hated him and was always pissed when he stayed the night; I didn't think he was all that bad. Sarah nodded her head and fell on the floor with her head in my lap. Dal came to help me get her up, but she screamed at him to get away.

"Stop it; all you men are the same! My ex-husband, Jerry, all of you."

After a few minutes, Sarah quit sobbing and let Dal put her back in her chair.

"I could use that other shot now," I said; this was obviously going to be a long night.

This made Sarah laugh a little bit and she poured me my shot.

"Jerry's an asshole," I told her after I'd taken it.

"Don't say that," Sarah told me.

"You don't need him or anyone to make you feel important; you know?"

"Did you father love your mother?" Sarah asked.

I stared hard at her. Obviously, the booze was talking right now because Sarah knew better then to bring up my parents. Another shot was downed before I answered the question.

"No," I said simply.

Flashbacks flooded into my mind and I would have done anything to get rid of them; my father hitting my mother on my eight birthday for spending too much money on my party, my mother locking him out of their bedroom and sobbing in front of the door and holding me and my brother while he pounded on the door and screamed at her to let him in, my mother always crawling into bed with us to get away from him. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Sarah falling off of her chair and passing out. Dally picked her up and put her on the couch and then came and sat with me at the table.

"You okay?" He asked gently, "She's drunk; you know she didn't mean it."

"Yeah, I know," I sighed and stood up, "Great, I'm drunk."

I went over to the sink and rinsed out my cup; Dal came up behind me and put his arms around me. We stood there for a while, me leaning heavily on Dally because the alcohol had fully kicked in. Dal asked me if I wanted to go to bed and I told him I'd be right in. I took a quick stop to the bathroom and then crawled into bed shivering.

"It's freezing," I said.

"Come here," Dal whispered, pulling me close to him.

He was careful not to hurt me and I felt comfort in his arms. I felt my hair move and Dal kiss my neck gently before nuzzling up close to me.

"Would you ever do that to me?" I asked drunkenly; I felt stupid for asking that the next morning.

"Never," Dallas answered me and I could tell he was smiling because I'd asked that.

"Why're you smiling?" I asked.

"Because I love you; now go to sleep, baby."

I kept asking Dally more questions and he kissed me to get me to shut up. When we pulled away, I laid my head back down on the pillow and passed out cold. I didn't wake up to Jerry coming over drunk and getting in a fight with Sarah, I didn't wake up to Dal getting up and beating the shit out of him. I was drunk and passed out; looks like I'll have to worry about those things when I wake up.

**Well there ya go. I think that's the longest chapter ever.**

**Reviewsss.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks for the reviews; it means a lot... I'm glad that so many of you like my story. Sorry if it seems like it takes so long for me to update, but I have so much homework. Here we go with—**

**CHAPTER 17:**

When I woke up the next morning, or should I say afternoon, it was obvious something was wrong at the Matthews household. For one, the three Matthews, who are some of the most spontaneous and happy people I know, were sitting next to one another on the couch, looking very sullen and upset. Dally, Steve, and Soda were sitting at the dining room table uncomfortably, like they had walked in on someone's funeral they didn't know. Soda was actually sitting still and Two-Bit hadn't cracked on remark about my morning hair. There was also a woman sitting in an armchair that I didn't recognize.

"What's going on?"

Sarah jumped at my voice and looked up at me when she spoke; a bruise lay on her cheek.

"He hit me," she told me before I could ask anything, "I'm lucky Dally was here."

Sarah told me her story in a calm voice. She didn't pause or stutter; she got it out as quickly as she could before she broke down. Jerry had come over drunk last night and the two had gotten in a heated argument. He claimed that she was spreading rumors about him at the bar. When Sarah denied it, he had hit her. Dally had woken up to the sound and went and taken Jerry outside and dealt with him. Tears were leaking from her eyes by the time the story was finished. The woman I didn't know walked over to the couch and handed Sarah a tissue.

"And you are another one of Keith's friends I presume?" She asked me stuffily.

"This is Orion; she's my friend. She lives here Aunt Kaye," Two-Bit explained.

"Oh, so you're the charity case? It's nice to meet the one who's using up my sister's money," Two-Bit's aunt replied coldly.

"Hey, don't talk to her like that!" Two-Bit said angrily.

"Keith, you have already shown that getting drunk is more important than saving your mother…"

Two-Bit never let her finish that sentence. He looked at his mother, whose glance was now at the floor in a defeated sort of way and took off running out the door. Instinct told me to run after him.

"Sarah, keep your head up; this isn't your fault," I said as I ran out the door.

Two-Bit had gotten a pretty good start on me, but I was soon gaining on him. Once we were side by side, I yelled at him to stop, but he wouldn't. So I ran with him for a while; my lungs felt like they were going to explode and I could hear my heartbeat in my head, but if Two-Bit wasn't stopping, I wasn't. Finally, after what felt like forever, Two-Bit slowed and we both basically plopped into the grass completely exhausted.

"I can't stand my aunt. I didn't know my mom was gunna get roughed up. I shoulda been there," Two-Bit stammered, letting all of his emotions out.

"It's not your fault," I replied breathlessly, "How the hell were any of us supposed to know Jerry would be such a dick?"

We talked things out for a while; I got him cooled down about the whole Jerry situation, but we avoided the subject of his aunt because neither of us liked her too much.

"Why'd you run after me?" Two-Bit asked.

"I figured if you were training for track I might as well join the team," I joked.

Nothing else really needed to be said about that. We were best friends; it was understood without speaking that if one of us was having a tough time, the other one was there to help. By the time we got back to the house, Sarah's sister was gone, much to the pleasure of the both of us. We walked into the house and Two-Bit went up to his mom and gave her a huge hug, twirling her around. She smiled and called her son crazy.

"I get it from you, ma."

It was then that I knew that Sarah was going to be okay. Life had made her strong enough to deal with something like this. The rest of the gang had gone home and sensing this was a family moment, I bid them all goodbye and made for the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sarah asked me.

"I, uh, well, I, uh, thought you guys might want some time alone," I stuttered.

"Sit your ass in that seat and grab a plate before it gets cold," Sarah told me sternly.

I started to protest, feeling a little weird about what Sarah's sister had said, but she cut me off.

"Despite what my sister may have led you to believe, you are not sucking up my money. In fact, I happen to know that you spend quite a bit of your own money on my son buying him liquor, food, and movie tickets. We love you and I want you to stay," Sarah told me.

There wasn't much argument to that, and I wasn't going to share the fact that Two-Bit and I usually stole over spending money, so I sat down and filled my plate with food and then hung around with the Matthews for a bit until Dally, Soda, and Steve swung by to see if me and Two-Bit were home yet. Tracie was going to come over and watch a movie on TV with Two-Bit, so that he could hang around in case Jerry came back. We all doubted he would, since I guess Dally messed him up really good, but I knew Sarah was glad he would be staying the night. I left with the gang, who were borrowing Buck's T-Bird.

"Where the hell did y'all go?" Steve asked interestedly, glancing at me in the rearview mirror, "You were gone forever."

"Two-Bit just needed to get away for a while; he felt bad about what happened," I explained.

"It wasn't his fault," Dally said logically.

I shrugged as we headed on over to the Dingo; I could get why Two-Bit thought it was his fault because that's exactly how I always felt when my ma got hit. The four of played doubles in pool and after Dal and I had beaten Soda and Steve, we started taking everyone in the place. Twenty-five dollars later, we sat down in a booth, happy that we'd made such a profit.

"Why're you so good at pool and poker?" Soda asked me, amazed that I always seemed to win.

"I've always needed to make money because we were always broke. It's that easiest way to make money, so my brother taught me," I said with a smirk, "He always said 'we ain't got any money so you can't lose,' so we never did. It just kind of stuck with me I guess."

"Things were rough, huh?" Soda asked concernedly, "If you needed to earn money when you were little."

"No rougher than they are now," I replied with a shrug.

My childhood resembled the childhood of all my friends in Stillwater. I never thought I was a poor kid because all my friends were stealing, cheating, and gambling just like I was. Looking back, I guess we did have it pretty rough.

"You ever cheat when you play us in poker?" Steve asked.

"I wouldn't win every time if I didn't," I told him honestly

Steve got kind of pissed off at me for that.

"Oh, don't even look at me like that, Steve Randle, because I seen you cheating too; you're just not as good at it as I am! Hell, you all cheat, you just always get caught." I stated.

Steve stalked away to get a coke and I shook my head after him; he's such a sore loser.

"I can't believe you cheat!" Soda cried out dramatically.

I laughed at this because Soda always gets caught hiding some sort of card in his shoe or behind his ear, hidden in that beautiful hair of his. We headed out after they'd eaten their burgers and fries. I was too busy laughing at something Soda had said, that I knocked a girl over. Helping her up, I muttered a quick sorry and went about my business.

"You don't remember me, do you Orion?" the girl spoke to my retreating back.

Spinning around, I looked at her hard, but still saw no recognition.

"Sorry, have we met?" I asked.

"We never talked, but you used to kick my ass back in Stillwater all the time."

I smirked.

"Oh yeah? Who were you with?" I asked curiously.

"My cousin ran the Taggers. I'm Kat." she said proudly.

I laughed viciously at this statement. The Taggers got their name because they were always writing their name on all the walls. They were a joke in Stillwater. My brother loved going over to their side to train kids that didn't know how to fight and we always ended up kicking the living shit out of them; they were pretty bad fighters.

"Come to paint me a picture, Kat?" I asked mockingly.

The girl frowned. Obviously she'd been expecting me to respect her for being in a Stillwater gang. Truth was, my brother, Frank, and Jesse before he died, didn't run a gang; they were in charge of our group of friends and keeping us all from getting killed, just the same as Darry.

"There's a lot of talk about you going on back home. It seems like your reputation's only gotten bigger since you left. Some people even say you're dead," Kat told me mystically.

"Be sure to tell everyone I'm here if they wanna have a word with me," I said, rolling me eyes, and getting increasingly bored with this conversation.

I started to walk away, signaling the guys to follow me, but once again Kat stopped me.

"I think I can take you now," She told me.

"That's why you came down here?" I asked, looking at her like she was crazy.

"No, but since I found you, I might as well get my reputation back."

I told Kat it didn't seem like she'd had much of a reputation in Stillwater because I'd never even heard of her. She dismissed the comment and started cussing me out. When I'd had enough, I got up and pushed her hard. Stumbling, Kat came at me and I easily blocked her punch. She wasn't a bad fighter; a little predictable maybe with her jab-hook combination, but not everyone's had as much street experience as I've had. It didn't take long for me to have her on the ground moaning. I probably fought a little harder then I would against some random person, but then again this fight was more personal. When I stepped away from the fight, I heard a few people in the crowd cheer for my win.

"Tell everyone in Stillwater I say hello," I told her, looking over my shoulder with a grin before heading to the car with Soda, Steve, and Dally trailing me.

I piled into the back with Dally, who dabbed at my forehead and told me I was bleeding a bit. Shrugging, I cuddled up into Dally's chest and shut my eyes; the late nights, my run with Two-Bit, and this fight really had me worn out for today. I heard Dally tell Steve to drop himself and Soda off and that he'd take the car back to Buck's. Two-Bit's mom didn't need us crashing at her place tonight, so Dal and I would head back to the spare room at Buck's that Dally often used. When we got to Buck's I woke up from where I'd been laying down in the back seat to Dal swearing loudly.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Dal just muttered something about those damn middle-schoolers and how Buck was robbing the cradle and took off in the direction of Tim's house.

'**So we're gunna sleep at Tim's house? This is gunna be interesting.'**

**END!**

**Well there you go. Pretty long chapter once again. Reviews.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey, sorry it's been so long, but I've been really busy. The reviews mean a lot, I'm glad you like my story. Here we go—**

**CHAPTER 18:**

Tim's was just how I expected; a lot of yelling, swearing, and things being thrown. Truth be told, his mom and step-dad weren't there for long; they took off for the bars a few minutes after we got here. Angela and Curly, however, kept up the screaming and hollering, and I immediately walked back out to Two-Bit's car to get a bottle we'd bought out of the backseat. Hell, if I was supposed to hang out in that house, I'd have to be drunk. The noise certainly didn't lessen when a few more of the Shepard outfit showed up. I took a long swig out of the bottle.

'**This is gunna be a long night,' **I thought to myself.

This was the truth, and it was a good thing I'd gotten a little bit of a nap on the way over here. A drinking game broke out, Tim called it waterfall, but where I'm from you call it Kings. As with all drinking games, it didn't take long for everyone to get their buzz on. When I saw Luke and Emily walking amongst the people here, though, my partying was cut short. I nudged Dally and nodded my head over at the two. By Emily's current state, I'd say she was drunk.

"I don't think Two-Bit would like his sister attending a Shepard hangout," I said.

Dal agreed and we walked over to the two. Luke looked worried sick and awfully uncomfortable.

"What's going on y'all?" I asked, somewhat amused at Emily's glassy-eyed expression of fear when she saw me.

"What're you doing here?" She asked.

"Funny, I was just walking over to ask you the same thing."

Luke filled Dally and I in about how he had found Emily drinking up in her room at home and had gotten her out of the house so they wouldn't get in trouble. A few of the Shepard's had spotted them at the Dingo and invited them over; not knowing where to go, Luke agreed to bring Emily here to try to sober her up some. Dal sighed and told them to head out to the car and that we would drive around with them till Emily could go home. Luke nodded, relieved to be getting away from the party. He had a right to be worried; bringing a lightweight like Emily to a Shepard party was a pretty bad idea, but it's not like they had anywhere else to go.

"Can we ever just have one night where something isn't going wrong?" Dallas asked me.

I gave him a small smile and kissed him lightly on the lips, showing my understanding. We said our goodbyes to the people we knew at the "party" and headed out to the car. An awful smell greeted us and we just knew that Emily had thrown up.

"Great," Dally said unhappily.

I got behind the wheel, since Dally drove way too fast to be driving a drunken Emily around. For the next two hours, we drove around town, pulling over occasionally to let the girl spill her guts. When I knew that she had nothing else left to throw up, Dal and I decided to take her back to Tim's; she was in no condition to go home and Tim's had most likely cleared out by now. Tim was sitting on the couch with his brother and sister and the three of them were plastered out of their minds. Turns out their parents had come home and kicked everybody out before heading back out themselves.

"Well if it ain't little Two-Bit!" Angela said, howling with laughter at Emily, who had passed out and was being carried in by Luke.

I cussed Angela out and told her to watch her mouth before I busted it open. Angela shut her trap and glared moodily at me.

"And wipe that look off your face; it makes you look like a bitch," I said coolly.

It was pretty obvious that I had had another bad night, as me and Angela never really had any problems. Man, was I sick of all the drama going on recently. I missed having a good time everyday. Angela took the last comment seriously and stood up and looked me up and down. Tim got up and shoved her back on the couch.

"You really wanna get your ass handed to you in your own house?" He snarled, "Damn, I got a reputation to protect here!"

Motioning for Luke to follow him, Tim ascended the stairs to lead them to a bedroom for Emily to sleep it off. When he came back down, he went into the kitchen and came out with three beers. Taking one for himself, he handed the other two to me and Dal.

"You two could probably use a drink," He said knowingly.

We drank a few beers each and finished off my bottle. A few of Angela's friends showed up and she threw on her jacket and took off, murmuring how Emily Matthews was upstairs sick out of her mind. If I had any energy at all, I would have gone after her and punched the living daylights out of her. Dal sensed my anger and led me up to Tim's room; he'd passed out on the couch a few minutes ago so I'm sure he didn't mind much. He shut the door behind us and pulled me into a tight embrace. Then, he kissed me hungrily; it was pretty obvious that he had been waiting all day for this.

We pulled apart when we heard more yelling downstairs; Curly was bringing a girl up to his room and I guess that she knew her way well enough around the house, so Curly knew she'd been with Tim. He was calling her every name under the sun, which caused Tim to wake up and get started in the yelling as well. Dal sighed and took off his shirt before climbing into bed; I knew he hated how we never really got time alone. It doesn't bother me much; I'm not ready to be messing around with Dally like that yet. After all, saying I love you doesn't mean he's going to stick around if I get knocked up. A lot of my friends thought that their boy loved them, but it turned out they only loved them if they weren't pregnant. Besides, Tim would literally murder us if we did anything in his bed. Pulling off my jacket, I climbed into bed and cuddled up to Dal. He was on his back and wrapped his arm around me while I placed my head on his chest. Neither of us bothered to say goodnight; we just simply weren't in the mood.

Like every other day that week, morning came far too early, and Dal and I were awoken far too soon by a very hungover Tim.

"Two-Bit's calling for y'all," He said, shoving us out of his room so he could get some sleep in his own bed.

Dal and I passed Curly's room on the way and I got a laugh out of what we saw; Curly and the girl from last night lying together in between the sheets.

"Guess it didn't bother him that Tim got her first," I said.

Dal merely grunted and went over to the phone and picked up the receiver; I rolled my eyes, knowing full well that Dally wasn't a morning person.

"Hey Two-Bit," Dal said.

I couldn't hear the response, but got the general gist of what was going on.

"Yeah, we've got her over here. Drunk as a dog last night. Me, Orion, and Luke handled it."

I glared at Dally; he really hadn't needed to rat Emily out like that. He noticed and walked away from me, as far as the cord would let him anyways. After Dal said that he'd drive Emily over when she woke up, the phone conversation ended.

"What was that look for?" Dal asked me.

"Why you always gotta tell on Emily like that Dallas?" I asked him; since I'd used his full name, it was obviously bothering me.

"Two-Bit's my friend; he heard that his sister was piss-ass drunk here last night so I told him the truth," Dally answered me, evidently angry.

"You coulda went about it better," I replied before I lit up a cigarette and went into the kitchen to empty the ashtray.

Dally followed me in there and we fought back and forth for a while until I'd had enough and went storming out the door. I heard the sound of breaking dishes behind me and knew that Tim was fully going to kick Dallas' ass for throwing dishes. It actually caused me to smirk a little; it's strange, but I like how Dal gets upset like that whenever we fight. Lighting up a cigarette, I walked through the park and headed over to the Matthews. When Two-Bit saw me, he asked how his sister was doing.

"She coulda been a lot worse," I told him, "Nothing that we couldn't handle."

Leaving it at that, Two-Bit noticed I was upset and cheered me up for a while. I swear, that boy is one of the craziest people I've ever met. Knowing I needed some more sleep, I quick grabbed a shower and went to bed with my hair completely wet. Two-Bit laid down on his bed and we fell asleep talking to each other.

"Well looky here, ain't that just the cutest thing," I heard an obnoxious Steve say about Two-Bit and I being asleep.

It was a little after seven, so Two-Bit and I had gotten pretty much sleep. I smirked when I looked over at my friend.

'**He sure does look innocent when he sleeps,' **I thought to myself.

Hearing the cackling from the gang I got up, out of bed and went into the bathroom to do my hair. I was wearing an old t-shirt of Two-Bit's, so I changed into one of my own as well; I made sure to punch Steve in the stomach on my way for his remarks. When I stepped out, I realized the whole gang was there since tomorrow was some sort of holiday and everyone had off, even Darry. It was a long weekend and I was going to make the best out of it. When I walked out, Two-Bit was sitting out on the couch, but he didn't look very awake.

"How you doing buddy?" I asked with a laugh.

Two-Bit merely moaned in exhaustion and rested his head in Pony's lap. Pony pushed him into the floor, and this caused Two-Bit to wake up. A wrestling match ensued, and I watched interestedly before heading into the kitchen to get something to eat.

"Hey y'all," I said to Emily and Luke; who were sitting in the kitchen.

Emily said hey and then said thanks for last night. I told her it was nothing and then dished myself some chicken and corn. Dally and Steve walked into the kitchen to grab something to eat as well, and Steve laughed when he saw Emily.

"Hey sweetheart, I been hearing some stories about you," He remarked.

"Damnit Steve, give it a rest," a frustrated Luke stated.

I couldn't help but grin. It was nice for Luke to stick up for his girlfriend, but Steve could easily kick his ass, so it probably would have been better if he'd kept quiet.

"What'd you say to me you little shit?" Steve asked cockily.

"Ya heard what I said," Luke said, feigning toughness.

"Well if you wanna take this outside just let me know then, huh?" Steve told him angrily.

"Lay off him, Stevie," I interjected, "They had a rough night."

Steve softened his glare when he looked over at me. Nodding, he took off back into the living room. I flashed Steve a small smile of thanks, which he returned; Steve's a hothead but he's still a pretty decent guy. Luke seemed pretty relieved that I'd stopped it all.

"Gotta watch your mouth, kid," I told him before going over to the sink to do up my dishes.

Dal stayed in the room and Emily and Luke took off, knowing that we needed a moment.

"We gotta stop letting other people's problems make us fight," I said after Luke and Emily had left the room.

I finished my dishes and sat across from Dal, staring into his blue eyes and waiting for his reply. When it didn't come, I sighed and knew what was going on; Dally felt like he always had to say sorry and felt like I should take a turn. I'm horrible at saying sorry though, and Dally smirked a little bit as I squirmed, trying to find the words. He got up and put his dishes in the sink. I put my arms around him and placed my head in the crook of his neck.

"Sorry," I said softly.

I could feel Dally smile and he kissed my forehead before taking my hand and leading me out into the living room.

"That wasn't so hard was it?" He whispered after he sat down on floor and pulled me onto his lap.

I just smiled and leaned back against Dally's chest. We didn't stay that way for long, as an excited Soda came running into the house. I didn't know where he'd been, but he was back now.

"Come on y'all, Two-Bit just entered himself into a drag race!" He gasped.

We all took off running for the door.

'**What has Two-Bit gotten himself into now?'**

**END!**

**Well there you go. Long chapter again. Sorry it took so long to update. Reviewsss.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Mkay, so here we go with **

**CHAPTER 19:**

We all piled into Darry's truck and Buck's T-Bird, following Soda's directions to where the drag race was supposed to take place. Soda explained that he and Two-Bit had walked to the DX to grab a pack of smokes, when Two-Bit cocked off to some Brumly boy and challenged him to a drag race.

"And what car is Two-Bit gunna be driving?" Steve asked curiously.

"Shepard lent him his; you know how Tim loves to put those Brumly boys in their place," Soda told him.

I didn't say it out loud to the group, but I was a little bit worried about Two-Bit. Sure he could handle his own, but I knew for a fact Two-Bit would be getting good and drunk before the race, and when you have to drive real fast in that state you're just asking for trouble. I've never been a big fan of drag races anyway. Yeah, I'll go once in a while to watch, but I don't really see the point. I mean, how does driving a car prove how tough you are? Senseless chatter ruled the rest of the car ride there and Dally pulled over into an empty spot once we reached where the race was being held. Two-Bit hollered at us from where he was standing and we took off in his direction.

"Hey y'all," Two-Bit said, grinning from ear to ear.

We said our greetings and just shot the breeze with the small crowd that was beginning to gather; word sure does travel fast around here. Two-Bit was buzzed and was fidgety with excitement over the upcoming race. Tim was telling him to calm down and that if he crashed his car that he would be dead. The Brumly gang rode up as a pack and we watched them amble over to us.

"You ready Two-Bit?" One of the boys, obviously the one he was racing, asked.

Two-Bit nodded and threw his beer away before walking over to his car. The cars were lined up and some grease girl with a super short skirt stood in front of the, ready to call the start. For the next few minutes, everyone lined up to find a spot. Some chose to stand up at the start for the exciting beginning, while most of us headed to the finish line to catch the winner. Two-Bit was cracking jokes and being an idiot before climbing behind the wheel and over exaggerating turning Tim's car on by revving the engine for an ungodly amount of time. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

'**He sure can't take anything seriously,' **I thought with a grin.

We could vaguely hear the girl start counting down and I leaned up against Dally and made him put his arms around me.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah," I muttered my face turning to stone, praying that Two-Bit didn't crash up Tim's car and get killed and that he didn't have to live down losing to a Brumly boy.

My body stiffened once I saw the cars roaring down the street and I felt Dally pull me tight up against him. The race was over just as quickly as it had started. Two-Bit had been victorious and everyone was rubbing it in the Brumly boys' faces. I let out a sigh of relief and went over to congratulate my friend. Dally pulled me back and put his arms around my waist. Smirking, he leaned in and gave me a kiss before we walked over to the gang.

"You don't need to worry about ol' Two-Bit," He told just before we got over to everybody.

I began to tell Dal that I wasn't worried, but decided against it. It didn't matter to me if my boyfriend knew I'd been a little worried, just as long as everyone else didn't know.

"Nice race, buddy," I said to Two-Bit.

Two-Bit shot me a wink and picked me up in the air. I was laughing hysterically as I was being spun round and round.

"You're crazy!" I screamed.

"Party at my house in honor of Two-Bit!" I heard Buck yell and Two-Bit put me down and gave a dramatic bow.

Two-Bit convinced everyone to head over to Buck's; even Darry was coming and was letting Pony come along. Johnny needed a little convincing; he's not a big fan of alcohol seeing how it affects his home life, but finally agreed to come knowing that at least Darry and Pony wouldn't be drinking. I would have stayed sober for him, but I knew Two-Bit would make me take a few victory shots for him and who am I to deny my best friend that? We decided to make a night out of the party and ran home to get dolled up so we could arrive in style. It didn't take long for everyone to get their hair just the way they wanted and to put on the right shirt. Two-Bit, Dally, and I got a jump on the party by cracking open a few beers while Darry grabbed a quick shower.

I was right about Two-Bit wanted to recall his memory, as we hadn't been at Buck's for thirty seconds before four shots of vodka were all lined up right in front of me. Hearing everyone screaming the countdown, Two-Bit and I grinned at each other before downing the shots.

"This is gunna be a good night!" I yelled.

The response to my comment was cheers from everyone. Two-Bit took off to go chat up some ladies who were willing to "congratulate" him for his victory, and I headed back to the gang. The Curtis brothers and Johnny weren't drinking; I don't think Darry really knows that Soda drinks on the weekends and judging by the fact that he didn't have a drink in his hand right now, Soda wasn't trying to let him know either.

"Nice job on those shots," Steve told me with a grin as he handed me a beer.

"Thanks Stevie," I replied.

After that, everyone pretty much had a good time. Some people Darry knew from high school had shown up and he was talking to all of them. Pony and Johnny were socializing with some of the girls in their grade, even though those girls were really drunk and probably wouldn't remember a thing they were saying the next day. Soda was having a good time with the ladies, as all the girls think Soda is such a doll. Two-Bit had ascended the stairs with some blonde a while ago, so I was sure he was having a good time. I was sitting on Dally's lap and we were talking to Evie and Steve. It had been just what we'd all needed it what with all the heavy stuff that had been happening over the past few days. A smile had been present on my face all night; partly because I was having a good time and partly because tomorrow I got to go to the state penitentiary and see my brother; the prison didn't let him make phone calls, so we only got to write letters to each other and I was excited to actually see him face to face. Besides, Dally was coming with me and I wanted Patrick to meet him.

"Hey y'all," Darry said, walking over to us, "Me, Pon, and Soda are heading back to the house if ya want a lift."

Knowing we had to get up early to get to the prison on time, we took Darry up on his offer and headed back to the Curtis' house. Dally and I curled up on the couch with the TV on low.

"Night baby," Dal said to me.

I said goodnight and fell asleep. Ponyboy shook me awake the next morning, letting me have the privilege of waking Dally up.

"Morning Pony," I said with a smile.

"Mornin'" He said, "Darry's making breakfast, you hungry?"

I said no thanks and woke up Dallas. Reluctantly, he got up and we headed over to Two-Bit's so we could get ready to go. Sarah was passed out on the couch and I guessed that she must have gotten drunk after work. I went over and covered her with a blanket; she's really taking this thing with Jerry hard and I really wished that it never happened. I grabbed a shower first, since it takes longer for me to get ready, and then Dal went after me. When we were ready, Dal and I walked over to Buck's to pick up his car; he was letting us borrow it drive to see my brother. We got on the road at about eleven, stopping to grab a bite to eat at a diner on the way. Stillwater was a few hours away and Dally and I just listened to music and talked for the entire time. When we pulled up to the prison, I saw Dally's eyes harden; it must have been bringing back memories from when he was locked up. After we parked, a guard was leading us through the prison to the visiting room. Boys were shouting things at me from their cells and I rolled my eyes while Dally cussed them out and glared furiously at all of them.

"Your brother got solitary last week," the guard told me solemnly, "he's been causes a lot of trouble ever since that friend of yours died, getting in fights all the time. Have a talk with him and change his tune."

With that, the guard opened the door to the visiting room and I was in shock at how much my brother had changed since I'd last seen him. He was skinnier and was covered in gashes and bruises. His hair, which he'd been very proud of, was unkempt and dirty. The glint that had once been in his eyes was gone and instead they were red and swollen. My brother had always been tough, but right now he looked like nothing more than a thug. Patrick sat with a cigarette dangling from his mouth and an odd grin playing on his lips as he flicked his lighter on and off. Sitting in front of me was not my brother, but a stranger.

"Pat…" I started, but drifted off.

For the first time in my life, I had nothing to say to my brother.

"What, you don't like the new me Ri?" Patrick asked, shooting me an eerie grin.

I grabbed the lighter out of Pat's hand and lit up; I was nervous. When I asked my brother what was wrong, his eyes locked with mine and we stared each other down for a while.

"Jesse never comes by to visit me any more," my brother whispered.

I shook; my head spinning. What in god's name was my brother getting at?

"Jesse's dead, Patty, he's been dead for a while," I told him gently.

Pat did not take this very well. He got up and threw the table against the wall and started screaming.

"Everyone keeps saying that. Frankie always says that. I don't believe any of y'all!"

I stared out the window, waiting for Patrick to calm himself down. Dally stood there in shock, not really sure what to think of any of this. In the letters, Pat never let on of his current state, but then again, I guess that was the point; never let anyone see you sweat. He'd also been tricking Frank and our other friends, who visited him as well. In all reality, Jesse being dead was tearing him inside.

That's when I started pacing.

'**How could this have happened? My brother, who no one could ever kick down because he was so resilient. The leader of our gang and who was liked by everybody; who was tough but not hard.'**

Pat reminded me of a cat; following my every move with his eyes and leering at me in that odd way.

"Jesse would hate to see you like this," I told him.

Instead of setting him off again, like I thought it would, Patrick blinked and looked more like himself since the entire time I'd been in the room. He collapsed against the wall and looked out the window.

"I've been drinking all the time, just like dad. I'm just like him. It's making me crazy bein' locked up in here, Orion, I need out."

Even when we were little, my brother had hated being trapped. My dad would always make him sit in the car with the windows up when he'd been bad, and it would drive my brother absolutely nuts. It killed me to know that my brother was locked up; it was the worst thing anyone could ever do to him.

"You got to clean your act up then and they'll give you a chance at getting paroled. It's not like you killed anyone, Patrick, and you were a minor; there's a chance they'd let you out sooner, but you gotta quit drinking so much and stop acting up," I said wisely.

My brother nodded, but still wouldn't meet my gaze.

"You just got to take it a day at a time; don't think about how long you're gunna be in for, it makes it worse," Dally's voice sounded from behind me.

I jumped; Dal hadn't said a word since we'd entered the room and I'd forgotten he was in here. Pat acknowledged what he said and got up off the floor, feeling embarrassed for freaking out like he was.

"And you must be Dallas," Pat said.

Dal nodded and the two sized each other up. They talked together for a while about prison; Dally gave him some advice on how to keep out of trouble. Then my brother asked for a few minutes alone with me. As Dal walked out the door, Pat stopped him.

"You take care of my sister for me," He said, "I don't wanna have to go back to jail once I get out because I have to kill you."

The two laughed at this, but I couldn't join in; my brother looked like hell and I couldn't even be there for him because they could only have visitors once a month and now that I'd seen him me and my gang in Stillwater wouldn't be able to check on him in a month.

"Honey, I'm so sorry," Pat said once Dal had left, "I didn't have anyone to be there for me and I snapped."

I shook me head pushed my brother hard. He grabbed me and I struggled against him, but he was stronger and pulled me into a tight embrace.

"I'm going to get cleaned up; I promise," Patrick told me.

"You better because if I come back here and you're not okay I'm gunna skin you alive," I responded before walking out the door.

I heard my brother yell for me to stop, to talk this all through with him, but I was too mad. I mean, how is Pat ever going to get out if he doesn't get his act together? The guard started leading us back out and this time when the boys yelled things to me, I shot back, cursing them all to hell and telling them to have fun rotting in this place. Dal tried to talk with me on the ride home, but I ignored him and glared out the window.

'**Can any of us ever just get a goddamn break?'**

**END.**

**Well, there it is. Sorry it took so long, but my computer wasn't letting me log on. Reviewsss.**


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER 20:**

"Rip her goddamn head off, Orion!" I heard Two-Bit scream.

My eyes spotted Tim Shepard's entertained smirk as he looked on at the scene in amusement. Returning the smile, I tackled the girl I had been brawling with and beat her into a bloody pulp before turning on my next target. The cheers from the crowd had me feeling so good that I knew that me and Angela could take the three girls who had started shit with us inside. My next swing was dead on and the girl stumbled, holding her nose and screaming. Angela let out a whoop and we finished off the last one.

"Well there ya go y'all," Curly shouted, congratulating us.

It's been a week since I'd visited my brother, and every night I'd managed to get wasted and start a fight with someone to take my frustrations out. My body's had enough, I've got bruises covering my body, my knuckles were bruised from being pounded into flesh and bone so many times, and my hangover was unbearable whenever I woke up out of my drunken stupor, but my mind has just begun. I caught Dally walking away, he'd made sure I was okay, but other then that I knew he could care less. Two days ago, Dally caused a right old scene with me in the Dingo, saying I need to quit this and learn how to deal with things. Yeah, I know it seems weird to be drinking when I know that it's what's tearing my brother apart in prison, but frankly I don't need anyone telling me how to live my life. I began to stumble back into the Dingo, but was stopped by a worried looking Darry.

"Sweetheart," He said gently, "let's head on home, huh?"

I blinked up at him in the light. Man, Darry sure was big. This caused me to burst out laughing and Darry looked at me like I was absolutely insane. All the same, I somehow ended up in the truck, seated next to Steve.

"Hey Steve," I said tiredly, yawning furiously.

'**Man, and I was thinking about heading over to Buck's for a little party tonight; I'm spent.'**

On the ride home, I couldn't light a cigarette up to save my life. Steve just laughed at my antics, but Darry became so outraged he actually took the lighter from my hand and lit it for me. My eyes went wide in surprise.

"Well, look at Mr. Chain Smoker over here," I told Steve, thumbing over at Darry.

Steve roared in laughter, while Darry tried not to crack a smile. That's Darry for you; always trying to play father and not just laugh at little drunk me. As usual, everyone was at the Curtis' with the exception of Two-Bit who I believe went to the party I'd been thinking about earlier. Dally shook his head in anger seeing me stumble through the door and he walked into the kitchen. All I did was shrug, Dally drank too so I don't know what his deal is.

"What happened to you?" I heard Johnny ask, staring at me with a look of pure shock on his face.

"What's you mean Johnnycake?" I asked.

"Ya might wanna check yourself in a mirror, baby girl," Soda said.

When I stepped in the mirror I saw just what I'd expected. Blood was running from a gash above my left eyebrow, a black eye could be found on my right eye, and some other small gashes lined my complexion.

"It's not too bad," I said to no one in particular.

Shutting the door, I got myself cleaned up as best as I could before returning to the living room where all the guys were scattered. Two-Bit must have opted out of Buck's because he was now seated on the floor in front of the television sipping a beer.

"Give me some of that," I told him.

"Get your own," He said, waving his hand into the kitchen and flashing me that stupid grin of his.

"Asshole," I murmured before jumping on him and grabbing the beer out of his hand.

A wresting match ensued until I accidentally dropped the beer on the floor. Dally, who had come out due to the commotion caused by me and Two-Bit during our mock fight, said something about me being careless and taking everyone for granted. I just stared, feeling like someone had slapped me.

"You need to lay off of her Dally," I heard Two-Bit say in my defense, "She's having a rough week, let her drink it off, it ain't like she's out of control or nothing."

"Not out of control? She's been getting in fights every goddamn day; her body is destroyed and she's so drunk that it doesn't even faze her to stop!"

The room was silent as Dally and Two-Bit stared each other down, each ready to defend their side of the fight.

"That's enough," Darry said, giving off a vibe that if anyone took a swing they'd have to answer to him, "You've all spilled something or other on this carpet so there's no need to rip Orion apart for a few drops of beer."

Dal let out an exasperated sigh; clearly he had wanted Darry to yell at me.

"Why do you want me to get yelled at?" I asked him.

"Because someone's gotta talk some sense into you and it sure as hell didn't work when I tried to," He replied.

Ignoring Dal, I turned to the rest of the gang.

"Wanna go find some action?"

A large grin plastered itself on Two-Bit's face, as he told me he had a bottle of Jack Daniels in the car that we could swig and that we could ride the ribbon. Steve agreed to come with us, so the three of us took off for Two-Bit's car. I could see the look of disappointment on Dally's face, but I blocked it out by taking a huge sip out of the bottle as soon as we got in the car. One sip turned into two, and two turned into three, and three turned into I don't know how many. All I did know was that I was having a real good time. Two-Bit pulled into a popular grease hangout, and we climbed out of the car and were immediately greeted by the people that we knew; everyone knew who Two-Bit and Steve were, and I guess I was getting a reputation around here too because it seems like everywhere I go, I'm known. Things were going great until some drunken greaser girl came at me with a switch.

"I don't appreciate people jumping my sister," the girl spat at me.

I didn't respond; when someone's got a weapon and you don't, it's not too smart to mouth off. Instead, I kept my eye on the blade and cursed myself for leaving mine in my other jeans. This girl was clearly out for my blood, though, and skipped the normal pre-fighting bashing and lunged at me. My reactions were slow from the liquor, and I couldn't dodge it in time. Knife wounds never hurt right when they first happen; all I felt was something sink inside of my gut and the liquid inside of me spill out. I hadn't been looking for another fight tonight, but since this broad had just stabbed me, I figured it was only appropriate to kick the living shit out of her. When I was finished with that, I felt someone pull me into Two-Bit's car.

"Get on out of here," I heard Two-Bit yell at Steve, "The fuzz is about to show."

I guess Two-Bit didn't know that I'd gotten hurt because he was congratulating me on the fight. In fact, I was starting to forget about it myself. I mean, my black shirt and jacket were hiding the blood anyway, so why worry anyone right? We pulled up to the Curtis' about twenty minutes later, since the ribbon was a little bit away from their house. All of us piled out of the car, and I flinched, wondering why my side hurt so bad. Looking back at the seat and seeing the blood that had run onto it made me remember though and I felt the sting of the wound now. Steve and Two-Bit took my stumbling into the house as me being wasted, and part of it was, but not all of it. You have to give them credit too, they were drunk as all hell and weren't in the best state to judge why I was walking funny; besides it was pitch dark outside so it's not like they could see the blood. The gang inside, however, instantly knew something was wrong.

"Why's your shirt all wet?" Pony asked me curiously.

I just looked at him and forced a small smile.

"Just got a little nick from a blade," I said breathlessly, "no biggie."

Everyone's eyes pretty much bulged out of their head at that comment. Two-Bit and Steve looked utterly confused, to say the least.

"You shirt is soaked," Soda exclaimed, "That ain't all your blood is it?"

"Yeah," I replied simply.

Dally came up to me and lifted my shirt; the guys all gasped.

"That's deep," Darry said worriedly.

Everyone started going crazy on whether to take me to a hospital or not.

"All of y'all just be quiet," I said, "Two-Bit, go buy me a bottle of vodka down at the liquor store while I get this cleaned up."

"Well I definitely don't think you should be drinking any more," Two-Bit responded stupidly.

"It's to clean it off, idiot," Steve told him, walking out the door to fetch it himself.

Dally dragged me into the bathroom and lifted my shirt up and took some water and a rag to wipe the cut clean.

"Jesus, it's deep," He said, "You need to go to the hospital tomorrow when you're sober."

All I could do was nod; my voice just wasn't working any more. Steve hollered when they had come back and Dally led me out to the couch and I lay down, knowing the excruciating pain that was about to come.

"Cover your ears up if you don't wanna hear this," Dally said earnestly.

No one did, though, and Dally unscrewed the bottle. Both of us had been through this before; I'd been the one stabbed and the one doing the pouring. To this day, I couldn't tell you what job was worse. First, he let me take a huge gulp out of it to help prepare me for what was about to happen. When that liquid hit my wound, my voice returned and I'm pretty sure you could hear my screams a block away. Two-Bit covered my mouth with one of his hands and held one of mine with the other, while Dally kept pouring and wiping at the cut. It felt like years when he finally stopped and I sat there sweating and writhing around on the couch.

"She didn't even cry," I heard Pony whisper, his eyes filled with tears himself

"It's nothing but a baby cut," I panted, trying to comfort the boy.

Now all I needed was someone to comfort me.

"Cigarette," I stated.

Dally lit up and kept letting me take a puff every once in a while. He told the others to go to sleep, but they all made themselves comfortable and said they'd be staying. When I grabbed Dal's hand he didn't pull away, but held it tighter and kissed my forehead.

"You aren't mad at me any more?" I questioned, feeling really lightheaded and weak.

Everyone felt miles away and I felt myself slipping in and out of consciousness.

"No, I'm not mad any more," were the last words I heard before I slipped out of consciousness for good.

**Well there you go, chapter 20. A little sad I didn't get any reviews on the last chapter, chapter 19, I wrote, but I would like to thank 3greaser4life3, Sariyu-chan and Sayuri-san, iheartponyboy33, and stelmo-lover for constantly reviewing the chapter. Thanks a lot guysss! Hope you enjoy this chapter; it's one of my favorites so far. Reviews welcome.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Okay, thanks for the reviews. Especially iheartponyboy33 for the critique on Ponyboy. Just to let you know, no tears actually fell from Pony's eyes, it just shows his sensitivity for his friends, and hearing Orion scream like that is something I would imagine would get to him and cause his eyes to perhaps well up. In fact, that's something that I admire about Ponyboy. We're all entitled to our opinions though and I thank you for yours. Thanks everybody else for the encouraging reviews; it helps a lot and makes me want to write more.**

**CHAPTER 21:**

The next time I woke up, I was nauseous and my stomach felt like there was a million pins and needles being prodded in and out of it. My breathing was irregular, like someone was sitting on me and I couldn't catch my breath right. The guys were all laying the room, passed out here and there. Dallas was seated on the arm of the couch with his head dropped onto his chest; his hand was still holding mine. Lifting my head up instantly reminded me of my nausea and I took off to the bathroom, tripping over half of the guys to get there. Sodapop was the only one that woke up to me puking, and he came into the bathroom with me and rubbed my back while I let everything up. When I was done, I sat with my back against the tub gasping for air. Soda flushed the toilet for me and comforted me, talking to me in a gentle, low voice until my breathing slowed a bit. By then, all the guys had woken up and were looking in on the scene going on in the bathroom.

"You're white as a ghost," Two-Bit said.

That kind of scared me a little bit. Johnny was the only one out of the gang who was darker than me, so by saying I was pale like that meant that I had lost a lot of color in my face. I lifted my shirt to look at my battle scar and almost threw up again, as my white bone was looking right back at me.

"This ain't too good," I said looking around the room.

And it wasn't. For the second time since I'd been in Tulsa, I had to go to the hospital. I'll spare you the gruesome details. Just know that I got a bunch of stitches and that I still hate hospitals; that about sums up the important stuff. Once I got the stitches, I was okay. Sure, it hurt, but it felt a lot better; I guess doctors aren't so bad after all. I took it easy the next couple of days by just hanging around the house. Knowing that I'd started a lot of shit with some girls this past week, I laid low since I really didn't need to be getting into any fights right now. I heard the door slam and saw Dally walk in. He bent down and gave me a small kiss before heading into the kitchen. Not exactly the most romantic kiss of my life, but at least Dal's looking at me again.

"You okay there?" Two-Bit said, walking through the door after what looked like a long night of partying.

"Yeah, I'm okay," I replied before walking outside and lighting a cigarette.

A lot was running through my mind. Frankie called me yesterday; he got a connection in the prison now, and says Pat looks a lot better. Hopefully that means he's taking a break from drinking. I have been; haven't touched a drop since I got stabbed, knowing that I was better off not making it a habit to drink like that when things upset me. I'm not trying to be my father, as much as it sometimes looks like it. By the time I was shook out of my thoughts by a car backfiring, I had smoked half a pack of cigarettes and Ponyboy and Soda were walking up the path.

"How you doing today?" Soda asked happily.

"I'm good," I replied, returning his smile; Soda has that effect on people.

We walked into the house and took a seat at the table where Emily was serving some breakfast up.

"You hungry y'all?" She asked us.

The Curtis' said yeah, while I shook my head no and decided on a cup of juice.

"You never eat no more," Two-Bit stated as he shoveled some hash browns in his mouth.

"The pills the doctor gave me make it so I don't wanna eat," I told him shrugging.

It was true; ever since I'd started taking the pain medication my appetite had gone right out the window. I've always been lean so I knew I was starting to look pretty skinny, what with my drinking last week and not feeling up to food and now these pills. Feeling everyone looking at me awkwardly, like they wanted to tell me to eat, I grabbed two pancakes and forced them down. I sighed, knowing that I needed to eat and keep my build or else I could get jumped, and if I'd lost I would just die of humiliation. You don't lose a fair fight where I come from; it's like asking to be disowned. Absentmindedly, I scratched at my stitches, which had been driving me crazy lately.

"Stop doin' that," Two-Bit demanded, "The doc said they'll get infected if you scratch 'em."

"They itch like mad, I'm going nuts," I responded.

"That's cause all you been doing is laying around the house. You, me, and these three knuckleheads here are gunna head out of town today and get your mind off of those stitches."

"And where are we gunna go?" I asked.

"Wherever the road takes us."

And that is how Two-Bit, Soda, Pony, Dally, and myself ended up driving down the highway at breakneck speeds having ourselves a good old time. We were headed away from Tulsa and Stillwater. Man, it felt good to get away from my problems for a while. Somehow, we ended up at a little bar in some small town, and the jukebox was playing pretty good music, so Soda and I got out on the dance floor and showed the people who were in there what we were made of. I forgot all about my problems as Soda and I laughed and danced while the rest of the guys whooped and hollered. When our legs finally got tired, Soda and I walked over to the bar and ordered two cokes; I gave Dally a kiss on the lips and he smiled and pulled me outside. He then proceeded to push me against a wall and kiss me furiously.

"Damn, I missed you," Dal told me breathlessly once we pulled away.

I smiled and fell onto his chest and felt his arms collapse gently around me, knowing exactly what he'd meant. We'd seen each other everyday, but we hadn't exactly been playing the part of girlfriend and boyfriend lately; it felt good to be in his arms. After a few minutes, Dal and I walked back to the bar, hand in hand, and cracked up laughing because Two-Bit was dancing in circles around Pony, whose ears were bright red and the kid looked like he wanted to die right there.

"Thatta boy Pony!" I shouted with laughter.

Ponyboy simply shook his head and pushed Two-Bit lightly away, going to the bar and trying his best to look serious, but the grin that appeared on his face let us all know he was having a good time. We hung around the bar for a while and explored the town a little bit before piling back into Two-Bit's car and heading back home. I was totally wiped out from our journey, since I hadn't been doing much. My side was throbbing a little bit, but it more annoying than painful. Still, right now it didn't matter much. Today was a real good day. Pony fell dead asleep in the car and Soda had to shake him for about two minutes before he woke up. Dally and I managed to get into my bed at Two-Bit's before the two of us fell asleep; Two-Bit didn't even make it to our room, he fell asleep right on the sofa.

"All of y'all wake up!" We heard Sarah's angry voice call the next morning.

My eyes popped open and I heard Dal curse under his breath. Sarah came storming into our room.

"What'd I tell you about not drinking when you were on those pills?" Sarah yelled.

Confusion spread across my face and I stared hard at her until she threw three empty wine bottles at me.

"Found these outside in the trash, care to explain?"

"It wasn't me."

No one believed me though. Well, Two-Bit did, but everyone assumed that we drank it together so it's not like he accounted for much. It's been me and him for the past few days. I packed up my stuff and left Sarah's and have been staying at Buck's with him, since he's good and mad at his mom. Sarah told me not to go, that we could work this out, but I told her if she didn't trust me, I probably shouldn't live there any more. Dallas won't look at me again, he screamed at me and said he thought I'd been sober and said that he's through with me. The rest of the gang won't look me in the eyes and think I'm just like my dad. Darry tried to talk some "sense" into me, but all I did was stand there, silently seething.

"Who the hell do they all think they are?" I asked Two-Bit as the two of us walked down the street to get away from the noisiness of Buck's for a little while.

Two-Bit merely let out a string of curse words and threw an arm around my shoulders.

"It's just you and me right now," He told me, "Look at us, we're a couple of outcasts. I have half a mind to take off and see what they'd do then."

We had done a lot of talking like that for the last two days. I knew Two-Bit would never leave, though; these are the guys he grew up with and he was famous around these parts. No one ever wants to start over. Trust me, I know that better than anybody.

"You stop feelin' guilty right now," He said, "I know you didn't drink it, so you didn't do nothing wrong."

"You're the only thing I got left here," I told him truthfully, "I really might head out of here so you can be with your friends."

This caused Two-Bit to stop walking.

"You can't leave, you're my best friend," He said simply.

I told him to stop being so stupid. That his family was worried about where he was and that he'd been friends with the gang his whole life and it would be stupid to ruin it, but Two-Bit just wouldn't hear any of it. It actually made me happy; Two-Bit may be a goofball and skip school too much, but he's loyal and the only one who trusts me completely. Things were just all a mess again. People say times are hard for everyone, but you try living life on the wrong side of the tracks for a while and see if you like how things go down. Ponyboy once told me how you can see the sunrise from both sides of town, but just because you're seeing the same sun doesn't mean that you're living in the same world.


	22. Chapter 22

**Sorry it's been so long, but the site would not let me upload any more documents. Strange, but it finally has let me. Hope you enjoy it.**

**CHAPTER 22:**

Two-Bit and I walked around till about three in the morning; knowing the party at Buck's would be pretty thinned out by about then. This was how it's been for the past few days. Having experienced many of Buck's parties first hand, we knew there wouldn't be any unoccupied bedrooms and split the couch, small as it was.

"Man, I miss my bed," Two-Bit said after a few minutes.

I let out a little groan because I'd almost been asleep. That's one thing Two-Bit can't stand about me; I can sleep anywhere, even on this small and grungy couch.

"Why don't you just go home?" I asked hopefully.

Since this whole incident I had felt awful for tearing Two-Bit and his family apart. Emily came over last night crying and told us that we needed to come home. We'd only seen the gang a couple of times, too, and it hadn't gone real well. They didn't believe me, as much as I knew they wanted to, so it wasn't like that left room for much conversation. However, they did tell Two-Bit and I to come stay at the Curtis' and get a fresh meal, but Two-Bit and I just weren't hearing it.

"Not till they believe you," he replied, throwing an arm across my neck and yawning.

I guess Two-Bit got over missing his own bed, for he fell asleep a few minutes later; I drifted off soon after and awoke to the thudding of someone's boots walking down the steps; obviously someone had gotten lucky last night. That someone happened to be Curly Shepard.

"Heard you and Winston were on the rocks," Curly told me, "Didn't ever picture you and Two-Bit though."

"Shut it hood," I replied coolly, even though Curly's grin let me know he'd been kidding.

"Y'all are looking pretty scraggly," Curly remarked seriously.

It was true, Two-Bit and I really were not looking our best. He was unshaven and wearing a wrinkly outfit, while my hair was a wavy mess and my shirt had a hole in it; Buck's just was not the type of place to keep up your image. Curly offered us a ride and I accepted, shaking Two-Bit awake so we could go to the Dingo and scrounge up some cash. It was a Saturday afternoon; the perfect time to find some adults who actually had some cash compared to the measly pennies most greasers had. The three of us entered the restaurant and I began to survey the tables, while Curly and Two-Bit went to order some cokes; they knew we'd be here for a while. My eyes set on an older man, probably in his mid-forties. The guy could really play, but I knew I was better. Picking up a stick, I went to an empty table and started playing a game by myself, missing my shots like I was a beginner and making sure I caught the man's eye.

"You up for another game?" I asked once he had finished his other opponent.

"Sure, darling," He replied in a rough voice and a western drawl worse than mine, "How much you got?"

To tell you the truth, I didn't have any money on me, but I told him I had fifteen dollars that I could whoop him. We shook on it, and the man told me his name was Jonesy.

"Orion," I responded, before racking the balls.

Two-Bit and Curly ambled over with a couple of the Shepard outfit just as Jonesy was breaking. When it was my turn, I sunk my shot with ease and lined up for my next; Jonesy gave me a look of hatred.

"Real cute, hustling me," He stated.

Shrugging, I sunk my shot and lit up a cigarette, allowing it to dangle between my lips while I circled the table looking at my angles. I told him that he'd been pulling the same stunt when asking me to play. Jonesy tried his best for the rest of the game and was pretty sore when it came time to pay up. He told me that he had half a mind to take me outside and show me what happened to hustlers, especially pretty little girls, where he was from.

"Oh really," A voice behind me said, "Because I would love to see that."

The voice belonged to Steve, who was accompanied by Johnny and Dally. Rolling my eyes and ignoring them, I cursed Jonesy out and told him to get lost before turning to Two-Bit and heading out of the Dingo.

"Hey y'all, wait up!" Steve shouted.

Two-Bit halted and I gave him a look that we should keep walking, which he shrugged off. Sighing loudly, I turned to face the gang and my shoes suddenly became a lot more interesting. My ears burned hot with anger because they didn't believe me, and the fact that I just wanted to kiss Dally made me kick a rock as hard as I possibly could.

"Come to tell us that you found some more alcohol in the house and that we drank it?" Two-Bit asked sarcastically.

Johnny's eyes got round and he popped his collar nervously; I couldn't help but smile at him. I didn't know whether Johnny believed me or not, but I did know he saw it as none if his business and I have to say that I respect that.

"Hey Johnnycake," I said softly, "How you been?"

"By the looks of it, better than you," He replied.

I laughed at his joke and walked over to light the cigarette in his hand; I guess he'd lost his pack of matches. This caused me to be inches from Dallas, whose eyes I could feel boring into me.

'**He's through with you, knock it off.'**

"As I was saying," Steve continued, and I realized that I'd completely cut him off, "is that your sister is completely drunk off her ass at the Curtis' right now."

"You got your car?" Two-Bit asked and Steve nodded, "Get me over there."

Steve's truck hadn't even stopped before Two-Bit and I jumped out of it and pounded up the steps to the Curtis house. Emily was sitting on the couch, looking extremely out of it.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Two-Bit demanded.

Emily looked at him and giggled like mad. I shared a glance with the rest of the gang, who looked away from me with shame; it was pretty obvious who had drunk the wine now.

"I'm taking you home," Two-Bit said, plucking his sister up off the couch and taking off for the door, "You made Orion's life a living hell for a week; she's been feeling guilty all this time!"

Tears welled up in the young girl's eyes.

"I only did it cause Mom's been crying over Jerry everyday. I hear her in her room at night. I'm the one that has to listen to it."

"That doesn't mean you let someone else take the blame for you!"

Two-Bit grabbed Darry's keys without asking and took off without another word. A very awkward tension filled the Curtis' living room, and I stood awkwardly next to the television, biting my lip; it's a nervous habit I have. Soda was the first to stand up and envelop me in a huge hug.

"Sorry, honey," He said simply.

The rest of the guys, with the exception of Dally, soon followed. Now, I tried my best not to crack and forgive the gang, but they were all looking at me with pleading eyes.

"I never lied to y'all," I told them.

They nodded and looked guilt ridden. From the looks of it, none of them had slept in days, for they all had dark circled under their eyes and their hair was all askew.

"Remember when you and Two-Bit crashed into my car and I was real pissed?" Steve asked, "Well, I forgave you."

A smirk found its way to my lips as I remembered the memory

"You all have a lot of groveling to do," I explained to them.

Smiles lit their faces and I was tackled in a group hug. In all honesty, I knew they had just been worried about me and wanted to make sure I was alright. Dally had been standing in the bathroom doorway for the entire time, his face hard as stone. The rest of the guys took this as a hint and took off for the kitchen. Dallas' eyes drifted up into mine and he told me to come out and talk with him on the porch. My feet stayed where they were though; until Dally pulled me out onto the porch.

"Baby…" He started.

"No," I interrupted, "Don't you dare. Don't you come back saying sorry to me again. You promised me that you would never hurt me Dallas; that you would always trust me. I gave you another chance once before; I'm not the type of girl that keeps going back to a guy that doesn't treat her right."

For the next five minutes, I went off on a little tangent until Dally silenced me by pushing me against a wall and kissing me heatedly. It was the most passionate and amazing kiss I'd ever had, but I managed to push Dal off of me.

"You think that's gunna make up for this?" I screamed.

"Why can't you forgive me, but you can forgive the rest of the gang?" Dally replied.

"Because my relationship with the guys is a lot different than me relationship with you," I stated, my voice dripping with anger, "And they never said they were through with me."

My eyes dropped to the floor, remembering when Dal had said that to me. Never before had I felt so unwanted. Dally cupped my face in his hands and his lips were inches from mine. He pushed his body up against mine.

"I love you," Dal said, his warm breath sweeping my face.

'**What am I supposed to do?'**

END OF CHAPTER.

**Okay guys, so we discovered who actually drank the wine. Poor Emily for having to deal with her mom's problems. Left you guys with a little cliffhanger here and the big question is: How should we continue on with the story? Ideas/Reviews welcome.**


	23. Chapter 23

**CHAPTER 23:**

I'm not sure how long Dallas and I stood there; his body pushed against mine and his lip inches from my own.

"I know you care about me too," Dal stated, trying everything for me to stay with him.

"That doesn't matter," I responded, "I promised I would never be like my mother and be with someone like my father."

A look of hurt spread across Dal's face and he said, "I'm nothing like your father. I've never laid a hand on you. I want you with me."

"You don't have to hit someone for them to feel like shit, Dallas," I replied, "You said you were through with me."

That comment was what was keeping me from getting back together with Dal right now. I could understand his anger about my drinking, since he knew I was under a lot of pressure and might turn to it. I could even deal with him not believing me like the rest of the gang, since it would have been all out of caring for me, but by saying he wanted nothing to do with me stung; as it was something that my father would say to me.

"Baby, I didn't mean it," Dally replied.

He placed his hands lightly on my neck and kissed me again. I let him because I missed it, but I didn't kiss him back. After a few moments, Dal pulled away, looking at me with pleading eyes.

"Kiss me back," he whispered in my ear, his breath tickling me.

Before I knew what I was doing, I kissed him. We were both laughing and smiling and I felt like a kid again; for we all knew I had grown up a long time ago.

"So, this is how it's gunna be from now on? We'll just laugh and pretend like nothing happened?" I asked, before walking off the porch and taking off into the night, completely changing my attitude in the bat of an eye. Confused, Dal yelled at me to stop; I didn't and I could hear him cursing and punching everything in sight.

For a few hours I walked around town, thinking about everything and everyone. It felt like I'd been in Tulsa a lifetime, what with everything that's happened since I've been here. All the things I've dealt with in the last few months have been thrown at me so quick that I can barely even duck any more. It always feels like I need more time. Exhausted, I situated myself on the curb, a cigarette dangling out of the corner of my mouth and fooled around with my lighter; flicking it open and closed, enjoying the sound of the metal clanking and the rush of heat from the flame.

"Shit it's cold," I said to the darkness.

"Then put a coat on," Someone said back.

I smirked, "Shut it Shepard."

Tim emerged from the shadows, looking as cool and collected as ever. He greeted me and patiently waited for me to stand.

"Going somewhere?" I asked him.

"Curtis'," He said simply.

I gave him a look; Tim didn't normally hang around the Curtis' too often. Before Tim could tell me why he was heading over there, we heard the sound of the obnoxious, drunk socs walking down the street.

"This is our territory," I said.

Tim nodded calmly.

"Get out of here," He said.

I shook my head and Tim just smirked; he knew I was never one to run away from a fight. Both of us prepared in our own way. Shepard stood completely still and allowed the tension to rush over him; ready to spring at the most unexpected of times like a coiled snake. Completely the opposite, I blinked my eyes till the world turned grey while taking small steps side to side; I was never one to keep still during a fight. Patrick and I can thank our father for this; he taught us to always move around, as you're least likely to catch a surprise punch. People always say we look like caged lions, ready to strike. No matter how you deal with the anxiety, though, it all comes down to how good of a fighter you are; luckily Tim and I are good, for five socs rounded the corner on us, obviously over here to jump some greasers.

"Shepard, fancy meeting you here," One of the socs spoke up, clearly recognizing Tim, "And with Orion, Winston's girl. Just wait till he finds out."

"Y'all are out of your territory, this is no time to make jokes," Tim said coolly.

The fight started soon after, and Tim and I did our best to fend off the socs. We were holding our own, when I saw one of the socs pulling a switch out. Tim grabbed his as well, he hadn't been planning to bring it out unless we had to; no one wants to go to jail for slicing someone up like Johnny had. Grabbing a pop bottle and smashing off the end, we advanced on him, holding our weapons to his throat. This gave his buddies quite a scare, and they decided to run off, knowing this fight would only end in bloodshed. Shepard and I cheered as they left; it always felt good to beat those snobby, rich bastards.

"Are y'all alright?" I heard the familiar voice of Two-Bit yell.

He ran over, followed by the rest of the gang.

"We could hear the fight a couple blocks away, so we ran to see what happened, but it looks like y'all took care of it," Steve stated.

"We handled it," Tim said simply, "I need to talk to you Ponyboy."

Pony shrugged; him and Tim walked off a little bit to have their conversation, while the rest of us looked on confused.

"Angel's been making a play for him," Soda stated to clear things up.

Darry tensed at the statement and urged Soda to tell him all the details.

"Oh brother," I said, "Like Pony would ever go with Angel."

This seemed to ease the older brother, as he offered me a small smile, which I returned. He walked over to me and gingerly touched my cheek.

"We need to get some ice on that," Darry remarked.

"Yessir," I replied, giving him a mock salute.

I noticed how Dal stood off to the side during the entire time; not speaking or acknowledging the situation set before him. My heart sank; it was killing me to see him like this. Especially because neither of us deserved it.

"You were gunna fight for me?" I asked, walking over to him.

"I always would," Dal said hollowly.

Leaning up, I planted a light kiss on Dally's lips.

"I thought you didn't wanna stay together," Dal commented, "Don't play with me like this."

I kissed him harder this time. Like I did before, Dallas neither pulled away nor kissed back. Leaning close, I whispered for Dal to kiss me. He caved, just as I had, and we shared a heated kiss. The gang all catcalled, but took off to give us some time alone. I felt Dal grab my thighs and lift me up, pushing me against the wall and kissing me. When we pulled apart, Dal stared at me for a little while.

"You're gorgeous," He said.

I blushed; Dal had never called me gorgeous before. This made Dally laugh.

"I didn't know you could blush."

"And I didn't know you could be a nice guy," I countered.

"I'm sorry," He told me, setting me down gently.

I just threw my arms around his neck and felt as he held me tight; it hadn't occurred to me before how much I needed Dallas and the rest of the gang.

'**They're keeping me alive.'**

END OF CHAPTER:

**Well there you all go. I figured it was about time to bring the socs back into this. For some reason, the website doesn't seem to like my laptops internet connection because I have been having trouble uploading documents, so sorry for the delay. Hope it was worth the wait though and that you liked how Dal and Orion got back together. REVIEWS. **


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey guys, thanks for the reviews; I'm glad you're all happy that the famous Dallas/Orion couple are back together. Hope you enjoy this next chapter. There will be a party later in the chapter; babygurl33, you actually gave me the idea because of your review that said PARTY, haha so thank you!**

**CHAPTER 24:**

Two-Bit, Steve, Dally and I had headed back to Two-Bit's last night and both Sarah and Emily were on me before I'd even stepped in the door. They were apologizing so much I couldn't get a word in edgewise. All I did was smile and wait for it to be over; I'm not a big fan of apologies. The way I see it, if it's over, let it be done. Well, they kept at it anyway, until Two-Bit remarked that I looked totally drained. After convincing the two that I wasn't mad, Dal and I stumbled into bed, grateful for sleep; I heard Two-Bit come in a few minutes later. The three of us were woken up in the morning by Steve, who came barging into the room with some news.

"You and Shepard stirred up the grease-soc battle again," Steve commented.

"It's been bad since I got here," I exclaimed, not willing to take all the credit, sitting up while Dal moaned and pulled me back down, up against him.

"Yeah, but it was on the back burner cause that Brownstone gang was in town. I guess now that they're gone, it's back to the socs for us," He continued.

"Well good," Two-Bit said happily, "I sure do love hitting socies."

"Not so good," Steve stated, "Johnny and Pony are on your couch right now sporting some fresh bruises. Got 'em on their way to school this morning."

We all stood to see the damage that had been done. Ponyboy has bruises on his neck; I guess one of the socs was choking him. Johnny was sitting awkwardly indicating messed up ribs. There wasn't much to be worried about; the two of them had been worse. Still, it let us know that the never ending battle of the rich elite and poor trash was once again warming up.

"All y'all gotta do is ask for a ride," Two-Bit told them, "I ain't like Dally here; even with a hangover here I'll take ya."

The two nodded, laughing at the glare Dal was flashing my best friend. Since Pony wanted to go to school, Two-Bit and I figured we might as well go too, even if we'd missed first period. Steve yelled at us for taking so long, and angrily stomped out into Two-Bit's car, yelling that he would be driving us there. Well, it was a good thing I didn't eat any breakfast cause I probably would have lost it due to Steve's driving. Once again, it had been quite a time since Two-Bit or myself had attended, and we were surprisingly called into the principal's office. We each took a seat facing the man, sharing a small smirk at our current situation.

"Keith and Orion," Mr. Williams said, "Your attendance has been abysmal. How do you expect to get anything out of school if you are never in class?"

"Mr. W, why do you think I've been coming back for so many years? I get more and more out of school every year I'm here," Two-Bit explained, flashing our principal his trademark grin.

I burst out laughing at this comment, and tried my best to be quiet when Mr. Williams' gaze advanced on me.

"Do not laugh at this clown," He warned me.

My laugh faded after a little while and I averted my gaze to out the window. For the next ten minutes, we got "scolded." They should really bring my dad or Johnny's parents in here to teach Mr. Williams how to yell because he's not too good at it. Two-Bit and I kept sharing glances and each time Two-Bit had a different funny face on; the only way I was able to suppress my giggles was by burying my mouth in my hands. Finally, after agreeing to come to school more often, Two-Bit and I headed to History class.

"So, you wanna skip?" I joked.

Two-Bit laughed and walked on his hands till we reached class. Honestly, I hadn't laughed this much in a long time and I'm going to have to remind myself to do it more often. I did a cartwheel to match Two-Bit; Soda had taught me a few things once when we'd been bored so I could do some of the stuff that they did. Nothing much else happened until lunchtime. Pony, Johnny, and Steve met us up to walk to Two-Bit's car, but on our way there, it was clear that his car was being sat on as some greasers were watching a chick fight. Walking closer, I noticed that it was Emily's friend, Ashley; it'd been about two weeks since I'd seen her, but I guess that's because of the whole Emily situation. By the looks of it, she was getting harassed by three grease girls. I'd fought one of them before and she'd been a horrible challenger, but when it's three on one, even the worst fighters tend to look good. Tossing my cigarette aside, I jumped into the circle.

"Hey darling," I shouted at Ashley over the noise, standing to her left making it known whose side I happened to be on.

The whispers started and our opponents stared at me with hatred; they'd been hoping for a quick fight against Ashley, who wasn't much, if you dig what I mean.

"Hey Orion," Ashley said, flashing me a smile.

It's amazing how having just one person on your side can improve your confidence, for Ashley started swearing at these girls with a mouth I didn't even know she had. I smirked, adding things in occasionally. To my dismay, however, things were interrupted before a real fight could even go down; our gym teacher came running across the lot and shouted something about detention so everyone took off to somewhere or other.

'**Damn, I could have used a good fight to pick up this day.'** I thought as I piled in Two-Bit's rust bucket.

"What was that even about anyway?" Pony asked curiously.

Ashley got real nervous and looked like she didn't want to say it. Once she realized we weren't going to let it go, though, she mumbled the reason.

"I can't hear ya," Two-Bit said, "Speak up."

"It was about your sister," Ashley said, loud and clear, looking out the window with tears in her eyes.

Johnny, who was sitting in the middle, lightly rubbed her arm, blushing madly. He wasn't normally the touchy type, but he sure can't stand to see a girl cry either. Two-Bit swore and pounded the steering wheel. None of us needed to ask any more about the situation; it was pretty obvious the things that they'd been saying to get Ashley riled up: drunk, slutty, little Emily Matthews. Still, anger surged through my body as I told Steve to roll down the window as I lit myself up a cigarette.

"You got one for me?" Pony asked, grabbing my shoulder lightly.

"Yeah, Pone," I answered, tossing him one, "there ya go."

"Thanks," the boy answered, looking pretty pissed off about the situation himself.

Soda and his boss were bickering jokingly with each other when we pulled up to the DX, and it helped ease us all out of our anger; I guess we realized the people could talk all they wanted to, it didn't mean shit. Besides, Emily would need all of our anger when the whispers started when she returned to school on Monday; Sarah was making her get her act together before she sent her back. I bought cokes for everyone, since I had that money from my game of pool with Jonesy and all. We headed back to school once lunch hour was up, Two-Bit and I heading to English. Now, I think my English is just fine, so you can understand why I find this class a waste of time. Our teacher, however, finds all of our language "a southern disgrace." Every time she says it, soc and grease alike, share in rolling our eyes; we can't help our southern twang on account of we've had it our whole lives.

"Shoot, if I had a dollar for all the times she said that, I'd be rich!" Two-Bit exclaimed.

I nodded; my friend spoke the truth. The day dragged on slowly and I realized why I really hate coming to school. Taking notes, carrying heavy books, and homework are things I could do without. Taking this to heart, I left my books in my locker for the day; it's not like Two-Bit and me EVER do our homework anyway, making it pointless to bring a book on home. Two-Bit and I are really alike in this way: we go to school for any excitement that may happen, not for the whole learning aspect.

"Man, there sure ain't nothin' to do lately," Two-Bit stated as us school goers made our way over to the Curtis household.

About five minutes later, we pulled up to the house and made our way inside.

"Darry's home early," I remarked, noticing the truck parked outside.

"Yeah, they were finishing up a job today before they moved on to the next one. They got to leave whenever they were done," Ponyboy explained.

I grinned, glad that Darry had some time off for once. When we walked inside, I saw Darry putting away groceries and told him to go take a load off. He did a lot for me, so I figured he could use a favor. Smiling, Dar ruffled my hair and astonishingly grabbed himself a beer. My eyes must have nearly bugged out of my head as I followed Darry into the living room and watched him open the drink.

"You act like I ain't never touched the stuff before," He responded to my look of shock.

"Well, it has been a while," Two-Bit agreed.

"Just one," Darry stated, "Feels nice to have a cold beer once in a while after a day out in the sun working your tail off."

Two-Bit went into the kitchen with me and helped me finish up the groceries. Well, I wouldn't say he helped, more like watched me. When we were finished, he nipped two beers out of the fridge and tossed me one.

"You're right, man," Two-Bit said to Darry, "A cold one sure does feel good after a long day of work."

"You knucklehead, I bet you ain't never had a hard day of work in your life," Steve taunted, "I'm gunna run down to the corner to get us another case."

I saw Darry shake his head and hide a smirk, clearly indicating that we were out of our minds for the way we partied.

"Well, if I'm gunna come out of my dry spell then we better do this right," I replied.

Agreeing, Two-Bit and I clinked our drinks together before chugging them in a matter of seconds. Steve came through, bringing back a bunch of six packs and bottle of vodka. Since it was early, we knew we all had a while before Darry would be heading to bed, so we turned it into a little "party" with music blaring out of the radio and drinks overflowing our cups. Everyone was having a good time, even if they weren't drinking. Soda emerged through the door a few minutes later, pretending to be angry that we started the party without him. Unknown to Darry's knowledge, Soda managed to slip some liquor into his "soda" so pretty soon most of us were feeling the buzz. It felt good to be drinking for the fun of it, not to cover up what was wrong. Dally and Tim showed up some time later; Tim was going to be hanging around a lot more to make sure Angela left Ponyboy alone, knowing Darry would have no problem starting with him if Angela tried to fool with his kid brother.

"What the hell is going on here?" Tim asked, knowing Darry seldom allowed this to go down in his house.

Darry shrugged laughing at all of our drunken antics, "Sometimes you just gotta live."

Dal walked over to me and picked me up in a huge hug; it appeared he was a little drunk himself.

"Hey babe," I said, pecking him on the cheek.

A couple of hours went by; we finished off most of the alcohol and Darry told us around ten thirty that he was looking to get some sleep. Promising we'd help him clean up tomorrow morning, Darry rolled his eyes and told us we'd better have our asses over here once our hangovers were done or he'd skin us alive. The drunk bunch left the house and included everyone but Johnny, Pony, and Darry; Soda didn't have a shift till late tomorrow, so he convinced Dar to let him out. Somehow, Darry couldn't even tell he was wasted.

"So, where to y'all?" Soda asked, swinging around a street light.

We settled on the apartment of one of Tim's outfit; the kid was out of town so we had the place to ourselves. For a while we all just hung out, watching a little TV, fooling around, and drinking some beer we found in the fridge.

"Can one of y'all give me and waste case here a ride to work tomorrow?" Steve slurred, pointing at Soda, who was dozing on his shoulder.

"Yeah, sure pal, one of us will get you there," Two-Bit replied while happily downing his drink.

If I would have known who would turn up at the DX that afternoon I probably would have stayed as far away from it as I possibly could; it could have gave me time to get away if I had to.

**Okay, well there's a long chapter for all of you. I hope you enjoy it. Left a little cliffhanger; now should we have another encounter with Orion's father (I have a little idea for it) or would we prefer someone else from Orion's past? I'm leaning toward her father, as it is easier to incorporate him into the plot, but if a good review with an idea comes up I may just reconsider. Thanks for all the reviews; I'm getting the stories out as much as I can.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Okay everyone, thanks for the reviews. Since no one had any other ideas, we are going to have Orion's father in this. Hope you enjoy.**

**CHAPTER 25:**

The next day dawned with the bright shining sun to sting our eyes and make our stomachs feel queasy. Last night, I'd passed out in the hallway on my way to bed. No one else had done much better. In fact, Steve was the only one who'd actually managed to make it to a bed; Tim was sprawled out on a reclining chair, Soda was passed out sitting up on the couch and Dally and Two-Bit were both on the floor, sleeping where they'd been watching TV last night. It was around noon when we all managed to get up and look more alive.

"Nice landing last night, Orion," Two-Bit said with a grin.

"What in the hell are you talking about?" I asked, and everyone cracked up laughing.

"You swan dived right onto the floor," Steve gasped breathlessly.

"Well thanks for all the help y'all!" I shouted, feigning anger.

"Aw, come on," Soda cooed, "we woulda helped ya if you didn't look so cute all passed out on the floor."

"I swear, if I wasn't so hungover I'd whoop you," I replied.

Last night had been a good one; there were a lot of stories that we were laughing about as we sat around nursing our hangovers. A little while later, Steve and Soda asked for a lift to the Curtis' where they could shower and get ready for work. No one really looked up to it, so I volunteered myself and Two-Bit tossed me his keys. On our way out, Dallas asked if I wanted to go to the movies tonight; he had to drive Curly over to the next town today to get sentenced for "borrowing" a car. Smiling, I nodded and Dal walked over and gave me a kiss.

"See ya tonight baby," He told me as we began the walk home to the Curtis' and Two-Bit's car.

When Steve, Soda, and I stepped through the Curtis' front door, we all gasped; the place was a pigsty for the first time since I'd lived in Tulsa. Darry had been true to his word about not picking up after us, so I decided to clean up the place for him and Pone, who had gone to school, while Soda and Steve alternately showered and ate breakfast.

"Wow, the place looks great," Soda remarked, as he walked in a towel on his way to get changed in his room.

I simply plopped down on the couch, exhausted from cleaning up. When Soda and Steve were all finished getting ready, we ambled out to Two-Bit's car, and I slid behind the wheel. Happily, I put the key in the ignition, put the car into gear, and sped off to the DX. When we pulled up, I noticed a familiar looking pick up truck sitting in the parking lot.

"Why is my dad here?" I wondered aloud.

"You wanna just drop us on the corner so he doesn't see you?" Soda asked gently.

I was about to say yes, when I spotted my father with his arm around some woman. Hatred boiled within my veins and I pressed hard on the gas, coming to a stop right next to my father's truck. Getting out of the car, I slammed my door shut and walked over to them; Steve and Soda got out as well, standing a little off to the side, but close enough for my dad to know they were with me.

"Well wouldn't you know, I was just asking about where I could find you," my dad slurred, drunk as always.

"Looks like I found you first," I remarked bitterly.

"Kid," he continued, calling me my hated nickname, "you're coming home with me to sign for the check."

Every couple of months, my dad gets a check from the state to help pay the bills and stuff. Little do they know that my father really drinks that check away instead of using it to get his life back together.

"You signed for it without me before," I said, eyeing the woman he was with suspiciously.

"Yeah, well they think been wondering about how I've been treatin' ya so they wanna see you," my father spat, as though I was some kind of idiot or something.

I told my father that he didn't treat me right, but he merely shrugged it off and told me that the state didn't know that. When I told him I'd come up this weekend to sign, my father grabbed me and explained that I would be coming with him and Janice right now.

"Janice?" I asked hollowly, forcing my father to loosen his grip on my throat.

"You ain't never told her about me?" the fake blond asked my dad, "we've been together for a year and you never mentioned me?"

"A year?" I repeated, "Funny because my mother's only been dead for nine months."

This caused the woman to smirk and my father told her to get in the truck, knowing full well that I was about to kick her teeth in. Steve and Soda were staring avidly at the scene forming in front of them; I could see the look of sorrow in both of their eyes when I found out my father had been cheating on my dying mother. My world had turned to a colorless grey and I could feel my body turning all rigid. I can say to this day that I have never been angrier in my entire life.

"She was lying in a hospital bed dying and you were messing around with that slut!" I screamed.

"Shut you mouth you little piece of shit. Your mother was sick for years. What was I supposed to do? Wait around when I couldn't even really be with her?" My father yelled back.

"That's what we all did; Pat and I were there for her everyday," I retaliated, "you're disgusting."

"Janice is better then her anyway," my father mumbled.

Never before had I been the one to throw the first punch whenever my father and I fought. That is, until today. I went straight up to my father and punched him square in the face. My father, who hadn't been expecting it, stumbled and I hit him again before he even knew what was going on. Obscenities were careening out of my mouth as I pushed my dad to the ground and began wailing on him. He grabbed my arms, threw me to the ground beside him, and hit me a few times, but our anger did not match; I was going to win this fight against my father even if it killed me. Soda and Steve ran over to get into it, but I told them to stay back; they obeyed and I think they understood that I needed to do this one myself. The taste of blood was in my mouth, and I'm not sure if it was my father's or mine. All I know is that I beat my father until he passed out cold; one punch for myself, one punch for my brother, and a hundred for my mother. Breathing heavily, I collapsed on the ground next t my father, exhausted. Once I regained my composure, I rose from the ground and over to Janice, who sat in my father's car looking terrified.

"I ever see you again, and you'll look like this," I told her, kicking my dad's boot to show her what I meant.

I didn't stick around for when my father woke up; he could go to hell if he thought I was going to sign that check for him. All I did was say goodbye to Soda and Steve who asked if I was okay, but I ran off because I really didn't know how to react to the situation. My body was covered in a cold sweat and I felt nauseous; water was running heavily down the back of my neck and I was surprised that the water was actually red in color instead of clear. My head was really messed up since I couldn't figure out that it was blood; never before had my parent's relationship had such an effect on me. I stumbled into the Curtis' house where I blindly found a bed to sleep in; I was out cold before my head even hit the pillow. When I woke up it was dark outside and I found myself in Darry's room and Darry, Two-Bit, and Ponyboy were all sitting in the room with me.

"Sorry Dar," I started, "Didn't really know where I was headed."

"It's alright, honey. Are you okay? Soda called and told us what happened," Darry said calmly, rubbing my back lightly as my breathing got heavier once he brought my father up.

Darry may seem like a cold person, but by the way he looks out for the gang and his brothers, he sure is a good guy. For a few minutes, no one spoke, Dar just kept rubbing my back. Finally, I broke the silence.

"What's this for?" I asked, poking at the bandage on my neck.

"Well, you were bleeding like a suckled pig," Two-Bit stated, "so we got you cleaned up. Your must have scraped it during the fight."

I just nodded, the nauseous feeling returning while I forced myself to remember the moment my neck got cut up. The three guys tried to talk to me about what happened with my dad, but I kind of shook it off.

"I hate my father," I spoke, knowing it was all that I could really get out.

Having said it, I got up from the bed and sat on the front porch where I lit up a cigarette. Thinking about my father with another woman while my mother was so sick put such a rage within me; I'd rather get beaten up by him a million times then know that. My cigarette dwindled, and I put it out before heading back into the house. Taking a seat next to Pony, I could feel my hands shaking.

'**Get a fucking grip,' **I thought to myself.

Soda and Steve walked in a few minutes later. Each one of them gave my shoulder a little squeeze before finding a place to sit in the small living room. An awkward silence followed, as no one knew what to talk about. Man, did I miss Patrick right now; he's the only one that I ever felt totally comfortable talking to about our father. Two-Bit flipped on the television and it eased the tension since we could all pretend we were enthralled with the little box. To be honest, I had no idea what the hell was playing on the screen.

After a while, I started dozing off again, so Darry told me to go lay down. This time, I crashed in Soda's old room because I didn't want to put anyone out. Crashing and yelling is what I woke up to two hours later; it was Dallas, and I knew he'd just been informed about what had happened. For some reason, he always feels like it's his fault.

"Quit yelling!" I shouted tiredly.

I heard the cursing from the kitchen stop and then the footsteps coming up to the door. Dal walked in without knocking, his hair all disheveled; no doubt from throwing things in the other room.

"Hey," Dal said coarsely.

"Hey," I replied.

Dallas came over and laid down with me, putting me into his strong arms and trying to comfort me. For the first time since I was with Dal, this made my body tighten and I didn't want his touch.

"It's okay," Dally said, trying to make me calm down.

"No, it's not okay," I murmured, releasing myself from Dal's tight grip and moving into a sitting position on the bed, absently touching at the bandage on my neck.

"You can't let him ruin us," I heard Dally say from behind me, "I'm not him you know."

All I could do was sigh; there was nothing to say to that. I stood up and started to make my way to the door, but Dallas turned me around and pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Jesus, why is this getting to me so much?" I asked, nestling my head into Dally's neck.

"Cause it hurts," Dal said simply.

I kissed Dally passionately after that; the touch that minutes before made me uncomfortable was now the most soothing thing I could have.

'**Well this hurts like hell, my poor mother.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Mkay, there's the end for you guys. Review and let me know what you think. **


	26. Chapter 26

**I am so sorry it's been so long to update, but I've had strep throat for the past two weeks and didn't get to see the doctor yet so all I do everyday is go to school and then come home and sleep. Finally, though, I got this chapter out. **

**CHAPTER 26:**

Sleep did not come easily to me that night. I remained still so Dal could sleep, but when I glanced at the clock and saw it was only 2:30 AM, I rose from the bed and headed to the front porch. It seemed like everyone was spending the night at the Curtis'; Steve was snoring lightly on the armchair, Johnny was on the floor covered by a thin blanket, while Two-Bit was sprawled out on the couch. The night air was brisk and I shivered at it but decided against a jacket. A cigarette found its way to my lips and I stroked a match against the matchbook and lit it. The sweet smell calmed me some, like it always did.

"Can't sleep?" Dal's gruff voice interrupted me.

I shook my head no and Dally sat one step above me, pulling me back to lean against him.

"You need to let him go," Dallas told me wisely, "he's not the same guy as he was when you were young."

"You got that right," I muttered.

Grabbing my cigarette, Dally took a hit before returning it and putting his arms lightly on my shoulders. I turned to face him, leaning up to kiss him. Dal's arms found my waist and pulled me closer, deepening our kiss. My hands ran up and down his chest, and I wanted nothing more then to stay like this forever. When we pulled apart, I could feel Dally looking at me hungrily; he was so patient with this, but I was firm about not messing around with him and ruining my life. Still, his arms gently reached under my shirt and he rubbed my stomach which sent chills down my spine.

"Come on," I whispered, taking Dally's hand and leading him to the bedroom.

Dallas shut the door lightly and I pushed him up against it, putting my weight onto him. He smirked and tilted my chin up to him and kissed me again. When I tugged lightly at his shirt, we pulled apart and I lifted it off of him. For a minute, I looked at his muscles, but my attention was brought back to Dal when he ran his cold hands up my sides and kissed my neck. He pulled me into bed and laid down on top of me, pulling the collar of my shirt to the side and kissing down my collar bone. I sighed; it felt real good when he did that. Still, Dally knew he had limits, and after a while he rolled off of me and pulled me closely up against him.

"I can't believe it's already been almost five months since I've been here," I said.

"I know. It feel like home yet?" Dal asked.

"Yeah, sorta. Stillwater will always be my home too, though," I remarked.

Dally told me that was how he felt about Brooklyn too.

"I can't go there too often, but it's still home," He explained, "I was thinking next week I was going to head up, though. Do you want to come with me?"

I said yes and for a while we talked about it. Finally, sleep started to come to me and I yawned loudly.

"You never get enough sleep," Dally told me.

"I love you," I said before I laid my head on Dal's chest and closed my eyes.

"Scrambled eggs y'all!" Darry's voice boomed the next morning.

It felt like I had just shut my eyes a second ago, and I groaned loudly. Dal laughed and kissed my cheek good naturedly before leaving the room. The shower started running so I figured that's what he was doing. I joined the boys for breakfast and then headed back to the house with Two-Bit to get showered and change.

"Man, I live for Saturdays," Two-Bit told me as Emily sat brushing my hair.

"What's on the agenda for tonight?" I asked, laughing at my friend's hyper state.

"Same as every week: blondes, booze, etcetera," Two-Bit stated, shooting me a wink, "And of course hanging out with my best friend."

"Sounds good to me," I replied, "But I'll have to catch you later; Emily and I got plans."

"What kinda plans?" Two-Bit asked excitedly.

I explained that it was girl plans and a letdown Two-Bit threw me his keys. Since Emily was the talk of the town, she was lying low and had asked me to hang out with her this afternoon to have a girl's day. Now I'm normally not a girly girl, but I figured for Emily's sake I could paint my nails and do my hair and makeup. Besides, Dal and I were going to the movies tonight so I thought it would be funny to surprise him once I was all dolled up. For the next few hours, Emily and I spent way too much time on ourselves. My nails were painted into a French manicure, my hair was wavy and framing my face, and I had on more makeup then usual; I still didn't compare to most of the greaser girls, though. Dal walked into the house around eight and the look on his face was priceless.

"You look great, babe," He stuttered out.

"Jesus, if I knew I'd get this reaction I'd do this more often."

"You don't need it," Soda told me from behind Dally, "but you sure do look great. And is that Emily Matthews? Well, Lordy, I hope my date looks half as good as you tonight."

I smiled at Sodapop; he's the nicest boy I know. He knows that Emily's been down and those compliments were really helping.

"You ready?" Two-Bit asked draping his arm around a girl from school I knew named Jenny.

"Hello, Orion," Jenny told me coldly as she pulled out her powder and caked even more makeup onto her face.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust, but forced out an equally cold greeting. The only reason I held my tongue was that I knew Two-Bit was looking for some action tonight; it wasn't my job to ruin that.

"We just gotta pick up my girl," Soda told me, as we made our way into Steve and Two-Bit's cars.

The night was typical: we saw a movie, a fight broke out after, we headed over to Buck's, and then stumbled home to Two-Bit's. Things were finally getting back to normal. The week flew by and to everyone's surprise, Two-Bit and I actually made it to school everyday. Tomorrow, Dal and I are headed to Brooklyn. While I usually trust Dally's judgment, I've never been to a big city before, and I have heard all sorts of stories.

"Don't be nervous," Dallas said as he sat on my bed while I packed my bag, "You're gunna be fine."

'**I swear to god, Dallas Winston, you better be right.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Well, there you go. Things get a little more physical between Orion and Dal. Emily was brought back into it as well as setting up the scene for New York. Stay tuned for next chapter.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Sorry it's been so long; strep throat, thanksgiving with friends and family, and papers for every class have left me with almost no time to write. Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 27:**

Dallas and I left before the sun was even up on Saturday. We would be going to Brooklyn for a week. Dal was like a human alarm clock; if he told himself to be up at 3:30, he was up. Me, on the other hand, need people to wake me up.

"Orion, we gotta get ready to go," Dally whispered, gently nudging me as he stood in front of me with his hair wet from a shower.

I let out something between a mumble and sigh and grabbed Dal's hand, trying to pull him back into bed with me. Dally laughed lightly at what I was doing, but kept up trying to get me out of bed. Finally, after some more encouraging, I opened my eyes and stumbled into the bathroom to shower; Two-Bit's mom was in there taking off her makeup from work and I gave her a small smile.

"You be careful out there, baby, and you come home safe," Sarah told me before enveloping me in a hug.

Sarah had taken over the parent role for me over the past few months and I knew she would be worrying about me going to a strange city. I told her I would be fine and then shut the door behind her and stripped for my shower. The warm water woke me up a little bit more, and about twenty minutes later I emerged from the bathroom fully dressed and with my hair brushed. My outfit was nothing fancy; just a pair of jeans, boots, and a fitted sweatshirt. Still, Dallas wrapped me in a hug and told me I looked good.

"You ready?" He asked me.

It was about four by now, and we really did need to get on the road if we wanted to get to New York by early nighttime. Dal had already loaded my bag into the car, and I told him I'd be right out; I just needed to say goodbye to Two-Bit.

"Hey, hey Bit, wake up," I said, coaxing the boy out of sleep.

"Whattimesisit?" Two-Bit asked, slurring his words tiredly together.

I told him it was time for me to leave. This woke my friend and he sat up in his bed, clad only in his jeans.

"Just for a week, right?" He prodded, remembering that Dally's last day had lasted much longer.

I smiled at this worry and guaranteed that I would be back by next Sunday. Taking this in, Two-Bit nodded his approval and told me to keep my head about me in New York; he'd been there a few times before with Dal and knew the ropes. Dallas came into the room to fetch me; I threw my arms around Two-Bit and gave him a kiss on the cheek before grabbing Dally's hand and heading out to the car. We had said goodbye to the rest of the gang last night. It sure was going to be weird not to see them/

"See ya in a week, y'all!" the teen shouted after us.

Excitement took over me as Dal started the engine of Buck's T-Bird, which he was letting us borrow for the trip. Dally told me to grab a couple of hours of rest so I would be fresh to drive, but I didn't think I could sleep just yet. For the next hour, we talked about an array of things: the fight that Pony and Curly had got in with some Brumly boys two nights ago, the party at one of the Shepard outfit we'd been to on Wednesday, and how Johnny's dad had really taken it to the kid the night before. This always gets Dallas really aggravated, as his drumming on the steering wheel grew increasingly louder during the conversation. Somewhere in between there, I drifted off and I when I woke up it was just after daybreak and the clock read 7:35. Dal looked pretty beat and I told him to let me drive for a couple of hours. Nodding, he pulled over.

"Just keep on this highway for another hour," he instructed, "Then wake me up, alright?"

Dally trusted me enough not to get us lost and he dropped off a couple of minutes later. When an hour passed, I gently nudged Dallas and he told me the exit I needed to get off approximately twenty minutes later. I drove for a while longer before we pulled into a gas station to fill up and have some of the sandwiches Sarah had made us. While Dal filled up the gas tank, I walked into the station to go to the bathroom and grab us some cokes. The girl at the counter showed me the door for the restroom and I couldn't help but gag a little at the conditions of it. Still, I'd been in worse and was careful not to touch anything in there and catch a deathly disease. When I walked out, Dallas was paying at the register and I walked over with the cokes. He snaked an arm around my waist and we sat on the curb to eat our sandwiches and drink. I told Dally about the conditions of the bathroom and he laughed gingerly.

"I'm gunna head around back and go, then" he said and I called him a baby before gathering up the trash and throwing it in the bin.

"Well ain't you a pretty little thing," a voice cackled behind me, "what do ya say we head over to my truck for a little fun?"

Spinning around on me heel, I spotted a man in his mid-twenties with a few of his buddies who guffawed at his comment. Without much thought to it, I walked up to the guy and punched him square in the face, careful to break his nose and stunt his vision. A crimson line came from the wound and I grinned at a job well done. Pulling out my switch, I flipped it open easily, allowing the blade to catch the glow of the sun and shine it into the others' faces.

"Y'all gunna give me any more trouble?" I asked bravely, "'Cause I could just cut you all to ribbons."

Dallas returned at this moment and smirked at how I had the men cowering from me and apologizing profusely for their actions. For good measure, Dal pounded on one of them before we took off; I didn't put my blade away until we were out of the parking lot. In fury, I was shouting curse words out my open window at those pigs and even Dally seemed impressed with my vocabulary. Silently fuming, I turned the radio on loud and stared moodily out my window.

"Are you alright? They didn't touch you did they?" Dal asked worriedly as he turned the music down.

"They didn't touch me," I said shortly, "I'm just sick of always having to fend off sons-of-a bitches like that all the time."

This caused Dallas to pull me close to him and throw an arm around my shoulders in comfort. When I'd finally calmed down I told Dal that men were pigs and he pretended to get angry at the comment. We joked around for a while after that, I got another turn driving, before Dallas took over for the final stretch. We pulled into New York City slightly after dusk and I had never seen anything like it.

"Jesus, the lights are awesome," I said, taking in all the sights.

"Yeah, one thing about this city; it's never dark," Dal commented.

Brooklyn was about twenty minutes from the heart of the city and we pulled into the slums of the neighborhood that reminded me a lot of home back in Stillwater minus the fact that Brooklyn was huge.

"Here we are," Dallas told me with a cat-like grin on his face, "You ready?"

I nodded my response and rose out of the car.

'**Brooklyn better be ready for us.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Mkay there you go with the road trip to NY. Not sure how long it takes to drive from Tulsa to NY, but oh well. Next chapter will obviously feature Orion and Dally's week here. Let me know what you think with REVIEWS.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Hey thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, I know it was a bit of a filler, but I didn't want it to just start in Brooklyn it felt too sudden. Anyways, here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 28:**

I came home from Brooklyn last night, without Dallas and three days before I was supposed to be home. We're broken up, and I'm pretty sure this time it's for good. When I told him I was leaving, all he did in return was throw me Buck's keys and tell me to get the hell back to Tulsa. Two-Bit and I are sitting at the lot and he's waiting for tell me why in god's name I showed up last night at three in the morning without Dally. Needing to tell someone, and figuring my best friend was the best to tell, I began to recount my story…

"_This is my friend Stag's place. We're gunna be staying here," Dally explained, "It's a little rundown, but it'll do."_

_Dallas had never seen my house in Stillwater or he would have never made a comment like that, since my house is pretty much shit compared to this apartment. I told him it would be fine and he smiled, telling me that he was glad that I wasn't high maintenance._

"_Can't stand chicks like that," He muttered as we ascended the stairs with our bags._

_Stag took a while to answer the door and Dallas took my bag and set it next to us. When I asked what he was doing, Dal just smiled and pushed me lightly up against the wall and kissing me deeply. I grinned into the kiss and thought that I could see Dally and I really lasting; how wrong I was. _

"_Well look what the cat dragged in!" A boy of about nineteen shouted as we parted._

"_Hey man," Dal said as the two patted each other on the back, "This is my girl, Orion."_

"_Well ain't you just gorgeous?" Stag commented as he winked at me, "And you hang with the likes of Winston here? Well damn, you hang onto this one Dally."_

"_Damned if I didn't know that already," Dallas told him._

_Stag was real kick back and reminded me a lot of Sodapop and Two-Bit. His apartment wasn't too shabby either; I don't know what Dallas had been talking about when he'd said it was pretty rundown. Guess he just didn't want me to get my hopes up or something._

"_Come and meet the rest of the gang!" Stag said excitedly as he took my hand and led me into the living room. _

_Dallas looked funnily at his friend and this caused the boy to drop my hand and murmur that he was just being a good host. Once in the living room I was introduced to Jack, Tommy, Craig, and Stag's younger brother, Trey._

"_Hey y'all," I said politely, flashing them my trademark grin as I sized them up; sure enough, they were like all the guys back in Oklahoma, tough as nails but good guys._

"_Well Jesus, Dal, looks like you got yourself a looker. Tell me sugar, how is it hanging with a hood like this?" Jack, the wiseass of the group, asked me with a smirk._

_I cocked off a remark at which the guys howled and told me I would get along here just fine. This made Dallas throw an arm around my shoulders and flash a grin, saying I could beat the pants off any of their girls in a fight too._

"_Even me?" A girl about my age asked as she sat down next to Stag._

"_I think she could," Dallas answered truthfully, "How ya been Toya?"_

_The way that Toya looked at Dal made it pretty obvious they'd once had something; the cold look she was giving me also helped to prove that fact. _

"_And you are?" Toya asked coldly, shooting me a glare._

"_Orion," I responded, keeping my stare nonchalant; never let them see you sweat._

_Toya snorted at my name and muttered that I should probably be a boy with a name like that. Stag scolded her and apologized for his sister's actions. I was in the middle of telling her we could settle this outside, but was cut off by Dal._

"_That won't be necessary baby," He stated and I shrugged._

_Our first night in Brooklyn had been good. We had gone out to a bar and gotten rip roarin' drunk. Toya had gone out with other friends, so I was able to escape her fierce gaze. Honestly, the girl didn't scare me. Sure, she was a city slicker, but that doesn't make you tuff in the least. Me and the boys had stumbled into Stag's apartment around sun up and slept the day and most of our hangover away. At around four in the afternoon, I finally managed to get out of bed, leaving a sleeping Dallas to wake up on his own accord._

"_Hey sweetie, you have fun last night?" Jack asked me as I sat next to him and Trey on the couch._

"_Of course," I told him._

_That's how things went for the next two days went. Me and the guys got along great and Toya learned to keep her distance because I'd laid out that whenever she wanted a fight, I was ready. Tonight, we were going to meet the rest of their gang. It was kind of like how we were with the Shepards; we see each other daily but don't always hang out. Dal wanted me to get to know all his friends here, though, and decided that we should all get together. They all seemed fine, another rough and tumble bunch, but decent nonetheless. That is, except for one of them. Right from the start, Coyote gave me a strange vibe. His nickname was derived from his eyes, which were an interesting and piercing gold. He was beautiful to say the least. _

"_Hey," His smooth voice had greeted me when I'd first been introduced at the pool hall by Trey._

_I gave him an equally cool greeting, but made sure that he knew I was with Dallas, who was playing a game with one of the guys. Trey had gone to watch, leaving the two of us alone. _

"_What Winston doesn't know won't hurt him," Coyote had whispered coolly while passing me a strong drink._

_This comment warned me to stay the hell away from this one. Too bad he couldn't stay away from me. By midnight, we were all drunk. I'd just beat the pants off Jack in pool and we were celebrating with a shot. I felt someone take my hand and pull me outside, pushing me against the door of the pool hall. Thinking it was Dally, I grinned, only for it to fall right off my face when Coyote stood before me._

"_You're stunning," He explained, "Dal doesn't appreciate it. I can't keep my hands off of you."_

_Growing slightly nervous since Coyote was bigger than I was, I pushed him lightly back and told him to get the hell off of me. Of course, he didn't listen and pushed me harder against the door. I turned to try and re-enter the building, but Coyote's fist pounded the door closed and I lost my cool._

"_Get out of my fucking face," I spat, "Dallas will wreck you if you touch me."_

"_Shut up about Dally already" Coyote screamed, his eyes going mad as he slapped me harshly across the face. _

_I hit him back, following the creed that a boy would never get the best of me. Still, Coyote kneed me in the face, causing tears to fill my eyes and me to go blind. Gently, he kissed me on the lips and went back inside without a mark on him while my face swelled up. Once I'd regained my composure, I'd gone inside to find Dally, Stag, or one of the other guys. _

"_What happened to you?" Dal demanded once he'd seen me._

"_Why don't you ask him?" I snarled, pointing at Coyote in fury._

_Coyote gave Dallas his charming smile and his gold eyes shown with pity. _

"_They must have really messed her up," The boy said, referring to the "gang" that had jumped me, "I think we should take her to the hospital."_

Everyone stared at me in confusion as I recounted the story. None of them believed me; their loyalties lied with their old friend. Coyote's eyes were hypnotizing as everyone looked from him to me.

"_Why would I make it up?" I commanded._

"_She put the moves on me, man," Coyote continued, "But I told her that you were my friend, Dal. Then she stalked off outside and Benny and his boys musta got to her."_

_Dal pushed me back in a drunken anger, "You put the moves on Coy?"_

_I shook my head in disbelief at the fact that my boyfriend believed this load of bullshit. Coyote's boys told Dallas that it was impossible since they'd been with their friend the entire night._

"_Seriously, man," one of them said, "the guy never left my side since we got here. We're in the middle of a pool game for Christ sake."_

"_Jesus Coyote, why can't my girls stay the hell away from you?" Dal slurred, "First Toya and now Orion."_

_My mouth spat out curse words and I told Dallas I was going home. He threw me Buck's keys and told me to drive off a cliff. On my way out, I made two punches: one at Coyote and one at Dallas. Then, I made my way to Stag's apartment and banged on the door till Toya answered. She eyed me warily and asked what was wrong. Figuring I had nothing else to lose, I told her my situation. Realization became plastered on her face as I spoke._

"_Coyote is a cunning boy. At fifteen, he's seen, done, and gone places that most people only dream. His eyes can entrance anyone and they've blinded his friends for years. He robs them of their money, girls, and gang ranking, while sending them to jail for his deeds," Toya spoke wisely._

"_Good, I hope he drowns them all then," I said bitterly as I packed my bag. _

_Toya embraced me quickly before I left and told me to get the hell out of New York._

"_It'll leave ya empty," She responded as I left._

Two-Bit looked stunned at my story and I couldn't blame it; it was pretty out of hand.

"How couldn't he have believed you?" He asked in shock.

"Coyote," was all that I could get out.

Two-Bit's hands were clenched and I knew he was going to have it out with Dallas if and when he ever came back. My friend knew how upset I was about the situation, even if I wouldn't cry over it; crying is weak. He put his arms around me and held me close, promising me that it would be okay.

'**How could this in any way, shape, or form ever be okay?'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Sorry it's been so long again, but midterms are kicking my ass. Also, I really wanted this chapter to come out right and I'm very proud of it. Let me know what you think. Also, should Dallas and Orion pull through once more or should the girl move on to someone more appreciative. It could go either way right now so input everyone.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 29:**

I was walking around town after skipping out on the rest of school. The whole week had been a drag and I'd really needed out. A cigarette found its way to my lips and I inhaled deeply, allowing the nicotine to wash over my body and calm my senses. Two-Bit says I've been on edge ever since I've been back and I can't say I disagree. I've been in a fight everyday this week, but I have been laying off the liquor; damned if I'll ever end up like my father. I figured that sometime soon Two-Bit would realize I wasn't in class and come searching for me. For now, though, I was content to be alone. The sun was beating lightly on my back and I was enjoying my cigarette and doing my best to forget. Tim Shepard was seated in a local pub and he beckoned me in. The bartender looked at me in interest and I eyed him, daring him to card me.

"What'll it be?" He asked finally.

I shook my head and took another drag off my smoke; I didn't feel like putting out for a coke, but I would have given him shit if he'd carded me. Funny that I cared about it when I knew I wasn't getting a drink anyways. I'm gunna have to head over to the pool hall later on because I'm a bit low on cash.

"How you been, Orion?" Tim's raspy voice asked once the bartender had left us be.

I shrugged, "Fine I guess. Where's your boys?"

It was one of the first times I'd ever seen Tim not in the company of a few Shepards or his girl-of-the-week and it seemed odd.

"I can't be around those pricks all the time," He said with a grin as he thought about his rough and tumble gang.

I laughed in response and dug what he was saying. Everyone needs alone time sometimes I guess. For a while after, we just shot the breeze. Tim let me know the score with his part of the neighborhood and I filled him in on what Darry and our boys were doing. During our conversation, I realized just how much Tim had his boys under control and I liked that. I'd never go in for it, but Tim knew his boys were his for life; or until they got some sense knocked into them anyway. For the first time in a week, I thought someone might not bring up Dallas to me. Of course, I never get it easy.

"When the hell is Dal getting back from New York," Shepard asked me, "Buck is trying to get him into some races and he's always been a shoe-in to earn me a few extra bucks."

My look must have given it away, for Tim looked at me in realization a few seconds later. I explained that Dallas was in New York and I could give a damn when he came back. I didn't expect Tim to feel bad for me. In fact, I would have been seriously weirded out if he would have. It's not like I need a Shepard looking out for me like that anyways. The subject was dropped, but I couldn't help but notice that Tim had something on his mind.

"Just say it already," I spoke up impatiently.

Tim looked at me, took a big sip out of his beer, and lit up a smoke before he responded. I swear, I never met anyone as patient as Tim Shepard. Me, on the other hand, I was tapping my foot waiting for whatever he was about to say. I'm like Two-Bit in that way; we wanna know the action and we wanna know it now.

"Angel's in some trouble," he said at last, "She's too stubborn to admit it, but that damn sister of mine has gotten in way over her head."

I looked at him, wondering what in the hell that had to do with me. Sure, me and Angel were fine after the words we'd had the night she'd taunted Emily when she was drunk, but it's not like me and the girl were friends or anything; she's a little too wild, even for me.

"And…" I said, urging him on.

Shepard went on to explain the Angela had been a real hell raiser as of late; stealing people's boyfriends, messing with girls at parties, all the normal jazz. The girls around were getting sick and tired of it and were calling for blood; Angela Shepard's blood.

"Now, you know my sister's a good fighter. I taught her most of what she knows, but she can't take on half the greaser girl population, if you dig what I mean," Tim told me.

I raised my eyebrows and couldn't help but smile. Little Angel always did mess around with people till they went absolutely ape shit. I guess she really had taken it too far if people were gunning for her. Tim wanted to know if I would be willing to jump some of the girls that had been causing her trouble.

"You're the best fighter around," Tim said, "If you're with her, I think it could stop this nonsense a lot easier."

I nodded in thanks for his compliment and then lit a cigarette to think about things. Once again, my loyalties didn't particularly lie with anybody, but Angela was usually right there with me at school whenever I was in a tough spot.

"You're not talking about an all out rumble are you? That could get pretty out of hand," I stated, admitting that when big groups of girls fights it's usually an outrageous brawl.

Boys, though they don't show it, tend to have more control in a fight. You throw a bunch of girls together like that and they tend to go absolutely insane. Tim smirked at my comment before answering.

"No, not a rumble. Just you, Angel, and a few other girls keeping everything in check around here," Tim concluded.

"Never thought I'd get caught up in this in Tulsa," I admitted truthfully.

In Stillwater, I'd jumped a few people, but never for fun. It usually involved some sort of pride issue or if they'd hurt someone I cared about. Weighing my options, I lit up a cigarette and inhaled deeply. Taking these girls on could blow off some steam, but it could also get me involved in a situation that could only grow worse. Still, it's not like I've ever had anything to lose.

"Yeah, I'm in, you just fill me in on the details," I explained before walking out.

I figured maybe jumping a few rivals might end my tenseness and relax me a little bit. After all, nothing calms the senses more than stomping someone's guts in, right? A car beeped at me as I walked along the side walk and I went to flip them the bird when I heard the cheerful voices of Two-Bit and Soda yelling at me to hop in.

"Hey y'all, what's going on?" I asked the boys.

They responded with their answers and we just drove around for a while hunting up some action. I told them about my encounter with Tim and they seemed pretty pleased with it all.

"Well ain't that something?" Soda stated in amusement, "You better believe I'm getting a front row seat to that."

We found the rest of the gang in the lot a while later tossing around a football. Not feeling much into playing, Johnny and I sat on the sidelines together and passed a cigarette back and forth.

"Are you okay about Dal?" Johnny asked me out of the blue, looking startled after the words had sputtered out of his mouth.

The look on my face must have been priceless because the last person I would ever expect to talk about my love live with was Johnny Cade.

"Don't you worry about me," I told him as I took a hit, "nothing can break me."

Johnny nodded and rose to his feet when Darry yelled for all of us to head on over to the house for dinner. I held back and ran my fingers roughly through my hair.

'**Get the hell off my mind Dallas Winston.'**

END OF CHAPTER.

**Okay well there you go. I am really sorry it's been so long to update, but I've been really busy with things and whenever I managed to write it never came out how I wanted it. Still not sure exactly how I wanna go with this story. Dallas will obviously be coming back some time, but you guys are the readers. I can write it either way. Do they get back together or go their separate ways? REVIEWS always appreciated. Thanks for your patience.**


	30. Chapter 30

Buck's was as it always was. Too many beers, too many people, and too many girls whoring themselves around. Two-Bit and I were just going to enjoy a few free beers, which Buck was always willing to give if you'd sit around and chat with him. As I was half listening to Buck tell me some stupid rodeo story, I felt myself getting pulled up from my seat.

"Shepard, what's so important that you gotta drag me halfway around the goddamn yard!" I shouted heatedly.

"I need to talk to you private-like, Christ," Tim stated as we arrived in front of his sister.

Nodding at Angel and rolling my eyes at Tim, I lit up a cigarette, "Shoot then."

Looking around warily, Tim finally began to speak. He explained that we were to be jumping a few of the girls who were plotting against Angela on Monday. Today was Saturday.

"With all the shit I've been hearing, you really got these girls wound up Angel," Tim spoke, "We're trying to get them before they get you."

"Fuck them, I was just messing around," Angela whined.

After a few stern words from her older brother, Angel found her way into Bucks, demanding a shot of JD. I looked at Tim and smirked; his sister sure was wild.

"You need to be at your best if you're gunna take them on. Stop getting in bullshit fights," Tim warned me.

I laughed dryly at this, as Tim Shepard is notorious for getting into fights for no reason. Swinging my beer gently around in its bottle, I told Shepard he needn't be worrying about me.

"I'm worrying because I'm not fixing to have to explain to Darrel, Two-Bit, and the rest of the boys you roll with that I got you killed," Tim snorted.

"I ain't gunna let them mess your sister up," I stated, figuring this was Tim's way of ensuring she would be okay.

Tim nodded and said lightly, "Bring a blade, just in case."

He descended into the night and I sat in awe.

'**What in the hell did I just get myself into to?'**

"Hey sweetheart! What're you doing out here?" I heard Steve Randle's voice yell to me as he and Soda drove up to the party, "How is it in there?"

"Too crowded," I responded, "Let me get Two-Bit and a bottle of liquor and take this somewhere else."

A drunken night at the Curtis' soon enveloped. Darry had a beer or two with us and didn't seem to mind that every time Soda went to the bathroom he was coming out more and more soused. By midnight I was feeling pretty damn good. When the phone rang, Ponyboy answered, looking bewildered at who the caller was.

"Darry," He said warily, "It's Dallas."

Darry strode over to the phone with calmness, even though I know he was raging inside. The entire gang was pretty pissed at what he'd done to me. They said their greeting and I saw Darry look up at me.

"Yeah, she got back alright."

Anger took over my body at this and I somehow grabbed the telephone from Darry's strong grip.

"Yeah I didn't drive myself off a cliff like you suggested! You stupid, fuc—"

At this point, Soda pulled me away from the phone, taking me outside for a cigarette.

"As much as you hate him, we need him to come back from New York. Every time he goes there something bad happens. Dally is better off here," Soda said urgently, "Even though y'all ain't together, I know you still care about what happens to him. You wanna see him go to jail again?"

Soda could tell I was about to say yes and interrupted me, "Alright you can fool everyone about that in this neighborhood probably, but not us. You think I didn't hate Sandy for leaving me and cheating on me? Of course I hated her, but I loved her too, you dig? Orion, honey, you don't want Dallas to stay there. New York and Dallas is an ultimate mix for trouble."

"Of course I don't want him to go to jail, Sodapop, but I don't want to be anywhere near him. If he comes back, you better believe I'll be back in Stillwater so fast it'll make your head spin."

Soda stared at me with a hurt expression on his face, "Don't be like that. We all care about you and don't want you to leave. I know it hurts like hell, trust me, but you can't run away from this. You think Dallas isn't gunna try everything he can to get back with you once he comes back? He ain't ever been like this with anybody else. You're it, sugar. The fact that you're in Tulsa or Stillwater isn't gunna mean shit to him."

Shrugging in defeat, I told Soda he was right.

"Dallas can't treat me like that Soda. I won't take it any more. He can try all he goddamn wants, but I'm not budging."

Soda smirked before heading back into the house muttering something that sounded something like me and Dallas were meant for each other. Cursing, I followed him, laid myself out quite a few shots, and downed them quickly. If Dallas Winston was coming back to town soon, you better believe I was going to be getting drunk out of my mind tonight. At around four a.m. Two-Bit and I decided to walk home to our beds; we were too drunk to drive.

"Dal's coming back next week," Two-Bit said offhandedly, trying to fill me in without upsetting me.

I threw an arm around his broad shoulders and giggled; in this state of mind I didn't care.

"That's okay, I don't miss him anyways," I slurred.

Two-Bit stopped walking and hugged me tightly. And for some reason, I caved and let him. Here we were, two kids from the wrong side of town, standing in the middle of the road trying to make sense at the shit life has decided to throw our way.

"You always got me," Two-Bit said finally.

'**It seems that's about all I've got to hold onto right now.'**

END OF CHAPTER.

**Alright, so we've got the fight with Angel planned for Monday and Dally's return for sometime soon. This is one of my favorite chapters so far. The friendship with Two-Bit and Orion is one of my favorite things about this story and I wanted to portray that. Let me know what you think with reviews.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Thanks for the reviews everyone. To clear it up, Two-Bit and Orion are strictly friends, there is nothing romantic going on. Now here is…**

**CHAPTER 31:**

Here I stand with my knuckles bloody and my breath coming out in quick gasps. Things did not go exactly as we had planned it. Angela was still drunk from the night before and was basically useless in the fight. As good of a fighter as I am, I can't take on five tough greaser girls by myself. Luckily, I had followed Tim's advice and brought my blade. After slicing one of them up real good, I'd managed to get them to back off. Angel can't even stand on her own and I'm making my way to the Curtis' as quick as I can while dragging Shepard's sister along with me, praying that those girls don't come back for more.

The gang was sitting on the porch waiting for me when I arrived home and I dropped Angela ungracefully on the sidewalk; one of them could lug her into the house. Tim was sitting next to Soda and I watched as his cigarette dropped from his mouth in utter shock.

"What the hell happened?" He questioned furiously.

"What the hell happened!?" I roared, "Your sister came drunker than all hell and I was left to take on five of those bitches by myself. Had to cut one of them down her side to keep her from kicking Angel's head in."

Shepard ran to his sister's side and tried to regain her consciousness. If I hadn't seen the flicker of worry wash over his face at the sight of us I probably would have taken a swing at him for cooking up this brilliant idea. Instead, I trudged into the bathroom muttering that I needed to clean myself up. Darry followed me, telling me how stupid I'd been for engaging in this.

"You had nothing to do with it. A few girls would have dealt with Angel. Now you're in the middle of things. Now we gotta worry about you getting jumped."

For some reason, I always feel like a failure when I disappoint Darry. I looked down at my feet and watched the blood cascade from a wound in my arm onto the bathroom floor. Darry put an arm on my shoulder to comfort me and I looked up at him.

"You know your way around a fight. They didn't get you hurt too bad, did they? You stopped it in time, right?" He asked and his eyes were filled with worry.

"Yeah, I stopped it in time. Just cut up a bit is all," I replied.

Darry looked at me to make sure I was telling the truth before stepping outside again to give me some privacy. It didn't take me too long to get cleaned up. Sure, I had a few cuts, but most of them I would just let bleed out and clean up later. Mostly, I'm just bruised and there's nothing you can really do for them anyway. When I stepped out onto the porch, I noticed that Angela was up and smoking a cigarette. To be honest, I think she had more passed out from the alcohol than the pain from the fight.

"Angel, come drunk to a fight I'm helping you out with again and I'm joining the other side," I said through clenched teeth.

The girl looked at me in disgust before coming to the realization that I'd kept her from getting real messed up.

"Look, thanks," she said as if it hurt her.

I waved it away with my hand and watched Angel pile into Tim's car. He placed a rough hand on my arm and nodded at me in gratitude.

"Watch her," I said under my breath to him, "This ain't over with her yet."

"Thanks," Tim grumbled, knowing full well that his sister wasn't out of the woods.

I shook my head as they sped away, glad to finally be away from the mess that Angela had created. Taking my blade out of my pocket, I flicked it open with ease and saw the blood that reached halfway to the hilt.

"Deeper than I thought," I said to no one in particular.

Inside, I was wondering how bad I'd knifed the girl. Shrugging to myself, I let the matter drop. She's not the first person I'd ever stabbed and I knew how to do it without causing too much damage. Still, dealing with knives is always risky business. Look at Johnny for Christ's sakes.

"Where'd you get her at?" Steve asked in wonder.

"Right here," I said, running the blade coolly along his abdomen, demonstrating the slice I'd done.

Johnny's eyes went wide in surprise and Pony mentioned how long of a cut I made.

"Wide, not deep," I said quickly, relaying the way I'd been taught to use a blade.

"That cut looks tough," Steve remarked, pointing at my head and running his hand over it.

"Thanks, now your filthy hands are going to get it all infected," I replied as I pulled away from his grasp with an evil smirk on my face.

Steve immediately tackled me onto the ground and was attempting to pin me. Having been in a fight minutes before and the fact that Steve is a muscular guy, this didn't take him long and he was on top of me, demanding that I holler uncle. My face must have paled under the strain of my broken ribs, for Steve got off and starting apologizing. I told him to knock it off and fished a cigarette out of my pack in order to steady my shaking head.

"Y'all are always rough after a fight. Take it easy already," Darry warned.

"You're lucky I was in a fight or I might take a swing at you," I replied to Darry's father-like tone with a grin.

Darry hit me lightly across the back of the head before telling me I was a royal pain in his ass. Laughing, I grabbed the beer in Two-Bit's hand and took a few large gulps; a fight sure can make you thirsty. Ponyboy wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"How can y'all drink that stuff so early in the morning?" He asked interestedly.

"Ain't nothing better after a fight," I replied, downing the rest.

Soda nodded in agreement before taking a beer for himself.

"You seem like you're scared of the stuff, Pon. It gets ya feelin' good," Soda said wisely.

Soda told his brother that he was going to get him good and drunk this weekend. I stared hard at Sodapop because we all know Darry would hit the roof if he ever found out. Nothing would change Soda's mind, though. Seems that boy always gets people to do what he wants.

'**Well shit, this is bound to get interestin'."**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Okay so there ya go. Dally should be coming back in the next chapter. Reviews please!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Thanks for all the reviews on Chapter 31. It really means a lot to me that you guys like my story. Here we go with… **

**CHAPTER 32:**

Dallas has been home for three days and I have yet to see him. I guess one thing us Greasers are good at is making ourselves scarce. Mainly, I've been hanging out with some of the Shepards. Not Tim or Curly, obviously, since Dallas would be asking them about me, but some of the lower ranking kids who are out to prove themselves. They're alright for a beer blast down at the lake and a hard floor to crash on any day. Here I am, sitting in a darkened living room with a bunch of bodies passed out around me on an early Thursday morning smoking a cigarette and waiting on the sun to come up. The ringing of the phone jerks me out of my thoughts and I tighten slightly.

'**Don't be Dallas. Don't be Dallas. I'm not ready.'**

"Two-Bit callin' for ya," Jason mumbled before laying back down.

I head into the kitchen while pulling on my jean jacket; the air's been a bit chilly lately.

"'lo?" I say lazily.

"Hey buddy!" my friend explodes, "Me and Dal got into it last night at the Dingo. The boys pulled us apart before it got good though."

I listened intently as Two-Bit rambled on about his confrontation with Dallas. Two-Bit was looking for a fight because of what Dal did in New York and Dal was looking for a fight since no one would tell him where I was.

"We're made up now," Two-Bit replied slowly, "I'm still pissed as hell about what he did, but he regrets it. You know he didn't mean it, honey."

Shaking my head in disgust, I told Two-Bit this was the first time he'd ever disappointed me and hung up the phone on the receiver. Can't blame him too much, though; that boy never could stay mad at anyone. Figuring Two-Bit would have told Dal who I've been running with lately, I head on out of the house looking for the place that my friends would least expect to find me. I'm not scared to face Dallas because he's rough and tough; I'm scared to face Dallas because I can't fall in love with him again. Knowing that our neighborhood was too small to avoid everyone that was looking for me, I decided to walk the train tracks and get my mind in all order. After all, it's not like I can avoid Dal forever. This act probably could have been more productive if I hadn't downed that whiskey before I left. It was just about dawn and I really hoped Ponyboy was sitting on his porch and watching the sunset. For some reason, that was all I could really think about and my feet guided me in the direction his house.

"I was hoping you'd be out now," I said in greeting to the youngest Curtis brother.

Pony smiled in return and told me that everyone was looking for me. Rolling my eyes at the comment, I told Ponyboy to sit back and enjoy the sunset. He laughed and eyed the bottle I was holding carefully.

"You just drink that now?"

I nodded before patting him on the shoulder and heading into the house. Three days in hiding and I was starving.

"Orion, where in the hell have you been?" Soda asked me excitedly as he pulled me into a hug.

Before I could answer, Darry hollered for Soda to go pick up some milk. Being drunk, I decided the food could wait and offered to go grab a carton at the corner store. Darry tried to have me some money for it, but I shook it off by telling him he's done enough for me. If I would have known Dallas would be at the house when I'd gotten back with the milk, I probably would have left it on the porch and left. Of course, I never know anything until it's too late and I walked right back into Dally's arms. Literally. I wasn't looking where I was going and I ran right into him. Drunk, dirty, and exhausted was not exactly how I pictured my first meeting with Dallas would be. Damn beer blasts always leave you with dirt all over ya. For a minute, we both stared at each other before I stepped away.

"Here's the milk, Dar," I said awkwardly.

"Orion," Dallas said to me, as if my name was foreign to him.

I shied away from his embrace and sat down at the kitchen table and sighed loudly. Two-Bit gave me a wink of encouragement and I eyed him dangerously. He burst into laughter knowing it was an empty threat.

"Jesus, you smell like whiskey," Darry remarked as he brought me a plate of pancakes.

"Yeah," I replied, "beer blast last night with some of Shepards outfit."

Breakfast was sufficiently awkward for everybody. Dal tried to talk to me a few times and I ignored him. My head kept drooping; I really need to get more sleep. Ponyboy commented that I looked exhausted and I gave him a small smile before I passed out cold at the table. Darry dragged me over to the couch and covered me with a blanket; I didn't wake up until six o'clock that night. When I did, I had a raging hangover.

"Morning sunshine," Steve said with a grin when I opened my eyes.

I cursed him out as I headed into the bathroom for a shower. Twenty minutes later, I emerged wearing a pair of jeans and a fitted t-shirt with my hair in a long braid. There was a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water waiting on the living room table when I came out. When I popped six of them, Darry gave me a look and I continued to chug the water till the end. The tension was thick. Dallas was staring holes through me and I was fidgety.

"Wanna go hunt up some action?" I asked Two-Bit.

He shook his head no and I stared at him in disbelief.

"I think you and Dal should take a little walk," Two-Bit said quietly.

The rest of the group must have agreed with my friend because no one told him off like I thought they would; Two-Bit was just the only one who was brave enough to push this button. I rubbed my temples with my fingers and sighed. Boy, I was in no condition for this kind of shit. A cigarette found its way to my lips and I inhaled deeply. Dallas walked over to me and clasped one of my hands. A jolt rushed through my body and I went numb as he pulled me outside. Shakily, I took hit after hit off my cigarette.

"Can you look at me?" His voice said gently and my gaze slowly reached his eyes.

Dal was smiling softly at me. He looked like he'd been through a lot in a short time. A gash across his cheek mentioned he'd been in a fight. His hand grazed my cheek.

"Girl, you drive me crazy," Dallas said, "You're all I've been thinking about"

This caused me to snort.

"You drive me crazy too," I stated, "because I have never met anyone who's as much of a selfish, arrogant prick as you are.

I walked away with a smirk playing at my lips. I'd kept my cool and made Dallas feel like hell. Dal had flipped; I could hear the banging and cursing behind me. If only I didn't like how upset he was over this I thought I could be okay and play it cool forever. This side of Dallas Winston just wants me to run up to him and kiss him till the sun goes down. A loud crash got my attention and almost caused me to look back.

'**Looks like Dally is gunna have to scrape up some money to pay Darry for that window.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Okay, so Dallas is back and Orion isn't gunna let him have her back so easy this time. Next chapter will involve some drama with Ponyboy drinking as well as continue with the Dallas/Orion problems. Reviews. **


	33. Chapter 33

**Alright so I am back with another chapter. I am so sorry it's taken me so long, but I really hope you guys like it. We finally have Pony getting drunk. Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 33:**

I never should have walked away from the Curtis' alone after my fight with Dallas. With a night off of school, I shoulda known the Socs would have been bound to come drunk into our territory and start shit. Luckily for me it was girls and not some Soc boys; I would have really been in for it then.

"Hey grease, don't you know any better than to walk alone?" One of them shouted.

I shrugged and told them I could manage on my own. My blade sat in my pocket, waiting to be pulled if anybody wanted to get sassy. A switch can keep even a pack this big off of me. Instinctively, I flipped the collar up on my jacket and slouched real low; man, I sure could make myself look tough sometimes. Two of the girls backed away, knowing I meant business. My head shook in disgust. Luckily, the fuzz drove up, driving slowly by and watching us intently. They told us to scram and they all took off, throwing some pretty nasty threats at me explaining how our next encounter would end. This I laughed off. I've got friends around here too. There's no way I'm gunna get jumped by this bunch.

"Get in the goddamn car, Orion," I heard Steve yell from his pickup where he was sitting with Evie and I smiled in greeting.

"Cindy and those girls causing you problems?" Evie asked.

I shook my head no; Steve would have killed me if I got Evie involved in this mess.

"Where to?" Steve asked me.

"Anywhere but the Curtis'" I mumbled.

Steve shot me a grin and laughed, "Dally finally caught up with you then? Damn girl, you got that boy shitting bricks about you."

"Drop me at the pool hall," I instructed, wanting a change of subject.

I thanked Steve once we arrived at my destination and I shuffled out of the car with a wave.

"You need a place to crash, I got an empty couch with your name on it," Steve called after me.

I'd stayed at Steve's a couple of times. His dad was a cool old guy if he wasn't hitting the bottle. Knowing Dal would be looking for me at Two-Bit's, I told Steve there was a good chance I would swing by later. Evie winked at me to show that she was okay with everything and I returned it. I didn't know Evie too well, but she never had a problem with me hanging out with Steve and that wasn't something I was trying to mess up. A cigarette found its way to my lips and I lit up as I stepped into the rundown restaurant. For a while I just scoped out the games and shot the breeze with a few greasers that I knew from around town. Twenty minutes into it, I'd picked up a game and earned a solid ten bucks.

"What'll it be?" The bartender asked when I sat down at the counter.

I ordered a coke, not feeling much like drinking tonight. Some guy was chatting me up when I spotted Ponyboy, Soda, and Two-Bit enter the pool hall.

"Hey y'all," I shouted, "over here!"

Pony cannonballed at me and I hugged him for a second. Raising my eyebrows at Sodapop, I knew that he'd gotten his little brother drunk.

"It couldn't wait till the weekend," I remarked, since going to school with a hangover was one of the worst experiences.

Two-Bit looked at me in amusement before telling me that we had off. When I asked what for, Pony shot me about the funniest answer I could have imagined.

"For drinking!" He shouted and I laughed.

"Well then, we should probably get you over to Buck's to enjoy the holiday," Two-Bit decided and led us out of the restaurant, "Swipe me a pack of cigarettes while I get a bottle?"

Two-Bit had been talking to me since neither Soda nor Ponyboy were in a state to try and swindle the cashier at the corner store. Five minutes of browsing resulted in a gain of three packs of cigarettes and Two-Bit was delighted with my plight. He handed me the bottle but I declined it.

"Not into it tonight," I stated.

I had walked with the group to Buck's, but knew better than to go in. The boys understood and said a quick goodbye before entering the most infamous party house this side of town. Two-Bit tossed me his keys and I picked up his car and took it out for a spin. At around midnight, I headed over to Steve's to take him up on his offer. I entered the house without knocking, as I've done many times before and saw the scene that was taking place before me. Steve and his father were screaming at the top of their lungs at each other and blood was cascading out of Steve's nose. They stopped when the door slammed behind me and I cursed at my careless mistake; I could have made a break for it, since this wasn't something that Steve would have wanted me to see.

"Let's go," Steve said as he roughly pushed me out the door.

He pushed me all the way into Two-Bit's car and demanded that I drive him around to clear his head. For a few minutes, I didn't say anything in fear of my getting my head bashed in. Steve's situation was not the same as the one I had with my father. His father cared about him, but hit the bottle too hard sometimes and vented on his son. My father hit the bottle hard all the time and didn't give a damn about me. It bothers Steve that his dad gets that way because they get along alright when he's sober.

"Here," I said softly as I offered the boy my handkerchief.

Steve took it and looked at me with wild eyes.

"No one ever saw that before," He said, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't…"

"Not my place to go runnin' my mouth," I said interrupting him, "I wouldn't anyways."

Truth was, we all knew what went on at Steve's house, but it wasn't something any of us had witnessed firsthand. Not even Soda.

"Now we've both seen each other get into it with our dad's," Steve said, recalling the time at the DX.

I revved the engine a bit and started driving faster; I didn't like to think about that afternoon. Knowing neither of us was comfortable talking about our fathers right now, I told Steve how Soda had gotten Pony wasted.

"Oh yeah?" Steve remarked, "This I gotta see."

We headed over to the Curtis', figuring they would have left Buck's by now. A wave from Steve let me know that Dallas wasn't there and I switched off the car before heading in. The scene that enfolded in front of me was to die for. Ponyboy was out of his mind and Soda and Two-Bit were encouraging it. Steve said that Darry was gunna kill the three of them, but Soda shrugged the statement aside.

"Darry's gone skiing for a long weekend. Won't be home till Sunday."

"That's where you're wrong buddy," the voice of Darry said from behind us, "Ponyboy are you drunk?"

Soda's face instantly became solemn. For once, the middle Curtis brother had overstepped the line and wouldn't be able to talk his way out of it. Man, am I glad that I can't be to blame for any of this. Smartly, Steve and I gave Darry a sober goodbye and left him to deal with his brothers; Two-Bit came with us once Darry had belted him hard in the stomach. The yelling started as soon as the screen door had shut and we hurried out of there. My face fell when I spotted Dal sitting on the hood of Two-Bit's car with Curly Shepard.

"Not now," I mumbled to myself.

All I wanted to do was lay down in my bed and go to sleep; I was dog tired. Surprisingly, Dally had no interest to talk to me. Once I saw Curly, I knew why.

"Curly just got mauled by the Socs," Dal said quickly, "Tim's in the slammer overnight for pulling his knife on some punk. Can I borrow the car?"

Damn, the socs really were looking to raise some hell tonight. Throwing the keys to Dallas, I helped Curly get in the car. Damn he was in bad shape. The kid could barely even think straight; he kept talking about how Tim was going to think he was some kind of pansy for going to the hospital. Dal dropped Two-Bit and Steve off at Buck's to gather some greasers to find the Socs in our territory. Steve seemed shocked that Dally wasn't looking to stomp the Socs himself.

"Shepard would kill me if I left his brother with anyone else," Dallas said wisely and we agreed.

When I went to step out of the car, Dal stopped me. Before I could tell him to go to hell, he spoke up.

"I need you to do the girl thing and keep Curly talking and calm. That little shit isn't doing so good," He said quickly.

Cursing the younger Shepards for always putting me in these kinds of binds, I got back into the backseat with Curly and kept him talking all the way to the hospital. We stayed with Curly, explaining what had happened and waiting for some of the Shepard outfit to show up. Tim's right hand man, Charlie, showed up after a while and said he'd look after the kid. After getting word that Steve and Two-Bit would be celebrating at Buck's tonight for stomping the Socies guts in, I told Dal to drop me off at Two-Bit's.

"No partying for you?" Dallas asked with a smirk.

"Don't have much to celebrate lately," I said blandly.

I got out of the car before it was even stopped and made my way into the house without even looking back. A creak from the door let me know that Dally had decided to come inside.

"Jesus, Winston, did you get knifed?" I asked, nearly jumping out of my skin when I saw how pale Dal's face was in the light.

Dallas calmly told me he'd caught the edge of a broken piece of pipe when he'd pulled the Socs off of Curly. He removed his shirt to show me and I had him sit on the counter while I cleaned it with some peroxide.

"Thanks Orion," Dal said once I'd finished.

Nodding slightly, I backed away from the boy and swallowed hard; the way he said my name was enough to send me over the edge. Dallas advanced upon me and I was frozen in place. He kissed me lightly and I stared hard at the floor after.

"I just kissed you," Dallas said dumbly.

"Yeah," I remarked.

"You liked it."

"Yeah."

This caused Dal to grin and he went to kiss me again. Pushing him away, I stomped into my room and slammed the door hard; Sarah was at work and Emily was out so it wasn't like I was waking anybody up. The only person I'd wanted to get the message was Dallas and I'm pretty sure he got it. The only thing that could really be good about tomorrow is seeing how bad of a hangover Ponyboy has. Other than that, I'm thinking about just staying in bed all day.

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Well there you go. Sorry again for taking so long, but I made this chapter pretty long and I hope you guys enjoy it. Reviews please!**


	34. Chapter 34

**Hey everybody. I know I haven't been writing as much and I appreciate that no one is ripping my head off about it. But I am happy to say that I have a new chapter up, and much sooner than the past few have come up. The reviews have meant a lot to me! Thanks for sticking by even though I've been busy. Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 34:**

Knowing I couldn't stay in bed all day, I arose slightly after ten, passing a sleeping Dal on the couch on my way to the bathroom. Sarah was just coming home from her shift and I waved in greeting.

"You hungry?" She asked, pointing at some eggs in the frying pan.

Nodding, I sat down and dug in. Sarah pointed at Dally, asking if we should wake him. I shrugged indifferently; what did I care if Dallas Winston ever woke up again? She knew what was going on and looked at me with a smile.

"Lying doesn't look good on you sweetheart. Give him another chance."

Controlling my rage, I continued the meal in a fake happiness. Everyone needs to learn that I am not ready to give Dal another second chance because he's had enough chances already. Not being able to control myself any longer, I asked Sarah a question.

"How many times am I supposed to let him screw up?"

"Till he gets it right, darling," Sarah replied before ascending the stairs to bed.

A small smile came across my face when I glanced over at Dally sleeping peacefully on the couch. He was still one of the toughest boys in Tulsa, but I'd never experienced his infamous wrath. Sure, he'd yelled at me and said things he shouldn't, but who doesn't? He'd never hit me and I know he never would. In his sleep, Dal wasn't the hood that everybody thought he was. Then again, I never thought he was a hood. Just a guy whose been thrown all the rough times and who learned to deal with it by being tough.

'**I can't be thinking this. Not now.'**

Wanting to put space between me and Dally before saying something stupid, I grabbed Two-Bit's keys off of the table and headed over to the Curtis'. Besides, I was dying to know what had happened with Pony and Soda last night. Knowing that Darry was at work, I entered the house laughing in anticipation of the hell that Darry had put the brothers through the night before. Judging by how clean the house was, Darry must have woken them up to clean this morning; that's the worst thing to have to do with a hangover.

"Any of y'all up?" I shouted and was responded by groans from the boys' bedroom.

Feeling feisty, I ran into the room and jumped on the two Curtis brothers. A wrestling match ensued and I had Ponyboy pinned beneath me when I noticed he was beginning to turn green. Letting him up to get air, Pony advanced into the kitchen to chug a glass of water and pop a handful of aspirin while Soda launched into what had happened last night. Turns out Darry hadn't been as bad as we all thought he would be. Sure, they had gotten a talking to, but Darry understood Ponyboy wanting to fit in; people have been looking at him and Johnny different ever since they killed that Soc.

"Says I can't make it a habit," Pony said, adding in that Two-Bit and the rest of us weren't helping that none.

"Hey! I wasn't involved in last night at all," I answered with a grin.

"You would have been if you weren't avoiding Dally," Soda added.

Ruffling Soda's hair, I told him he was probably right. When I asked the two if they wanted to head over to the Dingo to hunt up some action their smiles faded; Darry had grounded them for the next week for going behind his back. This caused me to burst out laughing. I've never been grounded in my life and I'm pretty sure I would have fallen over dead if my father had ever suggested it; he really didn't care what I did as long as I wasn't around. Deciding I would just go pick up Two-Bit and Steve for something to do, I hollered goodbye to Pony and Soda as I sped out of my parking spot in the direction of Buck's house. I picked up Johnny in the lot on the way. His face was sporting a gash on his cheek and I shook my head at it.

"You shoulda came by our house ya know?" I said, smiling as I realized I had begun calling it my house now.

Johnny just shrugged and kept his mouth shut about it as always. I lit up two cigarettes, one for each of us, and gave Johnny one to calm his nerves. Johnny wasn't one for Buck Merill's place and I looped back around to the Curtis' to drop him off.

"I'll see you later, kid," I said as Johnny showed off his cute smile and nodded before heading up the path.

Two-Bit and Steve were still drunk as hell when I got there, for they both decided to squeeze in the front seat with me. Two-Bit threw his arm around me and told me to "drive like wildfire" to his house. Of course, my outspoken friend always created problems for me.

"Dally, did you spend the night with Orion?" Two-Bit asked with twinkling eyes when he saw Dal eating breakfast at the kitchen table.

"I slept on the couch," Dal replied with a mouth full of eggs.

"I'll bet," Steve said with a low whistle.

This continued for a few minutes with Dallas and I growing more and more uncomfortable. Dal hated the thought that his friends were ragging on his lady killer rep and he could do nothing about it while I was just sick and tired of hearing about the whole situation.

"We didn't get back together," Dally finally shouted, "I got a door slammed in my face. Now lay the fuck off!"

With that, Dal threw on his boots and stormed out while lighting a cigarette. The dangerous look in his eyes meant that he was going to look for a fight to blow of steam. I told the two instigators off before heading to take a shower. Before I could even step in the shower, Two-Bit was yelling for me to hurry up so we could go see how Curly was doing.

"Shut the hell up, I'll be out in a minute," I yelled back as I let the warm water wash over me.

Feeling guilty, both Two-Bit and Steve hugged me when I exited the bathroom. It's hard as hell to stay mad at any of these boys; they're just so goddamn good at making me forget why I was mad.

"Let's go," I stated.

Curly was in better shape than he was last night. There were a few greasers in the waiting room, hoping to see how he was. Honestly, some of them were there to make sure they stayed on Tim's good side. Us, though, we were concerned about Curly. Especially me and Two-Bit since we hang out with Tim and him often cause of Dal. Tim instantly let the three of us in, knowing we had been the ones who had gotten him here.

"When'd you get out?" I asked him.

Tim told me he'd gotten out this morning and then began muttering the revenge he was going to take on the socs. I think it's safe to say that those uptown boys better watch their backs. As we entered the room I groaned in frustration because there Dally sat nursing some bruises and joking with Curly and Angel.

'**Is he fucking everywhere or what?'**

Two-Bit put an arm around my shoulder for support and I entered the room; not only did I hate hospitals but I also have to deal with my ex-boyfriend. For a few minutes, we asked how Curly was while Two-Bit and Steve explained how they'd stomped the socs. A girl sat at Curly's side and I recognized her as one of the normals at Buck's. She seemed upset that Curly was hurt, but it was all fake; they'd only been dating for a week. This girl just dug the attention. I guess she noticed me staring at her because she asked me to step outside. Before I could even tell her what I would do to her if we stepped outside, Curly cursed her out and told her to go in the waiting room. This made me laugh; just like his older brother in that way.

"You kept me talking last night," Curly said awkwardly as I stared out the window, "I wouldn't shut up."

"Yeah," I answered with a small grin, "You were talkin' crazy, as always. I told the docs you were fine."

Tim roared with laughter and clapped me on the back. The Shepard leader looked dog tired, but if I had to look after his knuckle-headed siblings I would be too. The nurses at the hospital had their hands full with all of us. We weren't there for half an hour before the doc said we had to get going or he was going to call the police on us. We wished Curly the best, he would be getting out tomorrow, and headed back to the car.

"Wait up," Dal shouted, "I need a lift."

'**Just like I said, fucking everywhere.'**

The only problem is I don't hate it as much as I pretend to.

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Okay, so there it is. Orion is finally admitting that she isn't over Dallas. Reviews please! Thanks.**


	35. Chapter 35

**To set things straight, the last chapter was not shorter but put out sooner than the last few have been. There seemed to be some confusion there, but chapter 34 fell into an average-to-long sized chapter. Thank you all for the reviews and here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 35:**

"Drop me at the bar," I instructed Two-Bit as we drove around Tulsa looking for something to do.

After leaving the hospital, we picked up Johnny again and have been driving aimlessly for an hour. My throat was dry and I needed a drink. Instead, Two-Bit ignored me and parked the car and said we were all going to go in. I kicked his tire in anger as I stepped out of the car and gave Two-Bit my best 'you're an asshole' look before stepping into the cool and almost empty bar. Noticing a poker game in the back, I ordered a beer and asked the three men if they minded if I joined. Their smiles showed that they thought they had it all in the bag. Steve and Dallas looked at the men in disgust and were probably thinking something along the lines of stupid cowpoke morons. Two-Bit tried on one of their hats and me and Johnny burst out laughing. In the boy's hand was a coke and I smiled; I don't think that kid will ever touch a drop of liquor in his life and I can't say I blame him.

"Fifteen to enter grease," One of them said.

I scolded at the greaser comment since they were just cowboys who'd never made it anywhere. Not wanting to get my teeth knocked out, however, I kept my mouth shut. After pointing Two-Bit in the direction of a blonde, knowing that he would give every hand away, I lit up a cigarette and picked up my cards. Recently I've been doing a lot of gambling. I guess it gets my head off thing and to earn some serious cash. In a few days I'm visiting my brother again and I'll be staying in Stillwater long enough for everyone to get the idea that Patrick and Orion Flighter's gang still ruled the streets. Frankie's been telling me that the other gangs have been getting ideas and I'm going to make sure they don't.

"Full house," I said as I flipped my hand over and collected the hand.

They all swore and I grinned.

'**This is gunna be fun.'**

And it was. For the next hour, I played while my companions roamed around the bar and shot the shit with people that came in and out. Two-Bit seems pretty cozy with the blonde waitress and I saw him write his number on a cocktail napkin not too long ago. I'd already drank three beers and was going on my fourth when I lost my fifth hand in a row.

"Y'all are cheating," I declared.

It wasn't the lighthearted cheating that I usually did either; they had set up the game before I'd even walked in the door. The men told me to sit down and shut the hell up, but I was seething. Who the hell did these guys think they were hustling me out of fifteen bucks? Sure I cheated some in card games, but this wasn't me we were talking about.

"Give me my money," I said scathingly.

They declined and dealt the next hand strictly to themselves.

"Watch as we fight for you share," one of them cackled.

"Watch as I split your fucking head open," I replied as I cracked a beer bottle close to one of their dirty hands.

It's safe to say this got their attention, as well as the attention of everyone else in the place. The bartender asked if we had a problem and I asked the cowboys if we did. Shaking their heads, my fifteen bucks were quickly handed over to me. Feeling dangerous, I demanded their money as well and walked out with forty-five bucks in my pocket. With no holsters, I guessed they were just pretend cowboys and weren't packing heaters; city slickers from up north trying to fool us southern folk. I'll be damned if I would have let them get that satisfaction. On my way out, I apologized to the bartender and slipped a generous tip onto the counter. Forty-five dollars was a shit load of money to me. Hell, I could get to Stillwater and back three times over. This amount of money meant I didn't have to head into the pool hall for a while and almost get my head kicked in by a bunch of drunken truckers.

"See ya around kid," He said as he handed me a drink to go.

Pulling a bat from behind the counter, the bartender walked over in the direction of the "cowboys" and started cursing them out real good.

"Yeah, you tell 'em Jeremy," Steve shouted as we headed to the car, "Damn you really know how to spruce up a boring day Orion."

I laughed at this and handed my beer to Two-Bit who was eyeing it hungrily. Dally's gaze fell upon me and he smirked at me, telling me I'd done good. Johnny mentioned he was starving and Two-Bit said we could go grab some pork and corn over at his house. As we sat at the table with Emily, who smiled at the company; she and Two-Bit sure do love a crowd. She asked me when I'd be leaving for Stillwater and the guys choked on their pork; they hadn't known yet because I hadn't told them.

"When you going there?" Steve asked with his mouth full.

Cringing at the sight, I told Steve I'd be leaving sometime next week. Two-Bit asked if I was coming back and I stared stupidly at him.

"Of course moron," I replied, "I just need to straighten out some things, see Pat, and I'll be back."

Emily asked what kind of things and I eyed her warily. She hadn't seen that much violence in her life since everybody knew to steer clear of Two-Bit's kid sister. Still, she was no innocent and I figured she could handle it.

"A lot of the other gangs around are thinking they can get in on our territory while me and my brother are away. With Jesse gone and Frankie running things alone, it hasn't been easy to keep everybody in order. Frank called me a few weeks back and told me things are rough. My friends are getting jumped, going to the hospital, and are getting jailed like it's going out of style. I'm going to put a stop to it. They'll listen to me more than Frankie," I concluded.

"Why?" Emily asked.

"Because I'll make them listen."

I may be a girl, but I have respect in Stillwater. Whatever I say is expected to be done. My brother and I are local legends and have managed to tame the gang violence that was destructing the streets. With us gone, it seems that things are tearing apart and I can't let that happen. My friends and I have never admitted to being a gang, just as Darry and them haven't, but it's kind of obvious that Pat, Frankie, and I run things and keep the insanity down. Patrick is known far and wide for the amount of work he's put into straightening things out and I'll be sure to visit him and get some advice.

"And you weren't going to take me along?" Two-Bit asked hurtfully.

"Course I was, Bit," I replied, "I just needed to figure out how to ask you."

My friend smiled with happiness at the fact that I was going to ask him to come along with me. For a while now we've been talking about taking a trip there so my best friend could meet my friends and my brother and now it could happen. Plus, Two-Bit was a good guy to have around to convince people to do things if you dig what I'm saying. When I told Two-Bit it wasn't going to be the fun trip that we'd been talking about he waved the idea off.

"Please, seeing your outfit kick some ass is gunna be fun," Two-Bit responded.

The rest of dinner was Steve wishing he could go and see some action, but I said he could probably get in on the Shepard-Soc rumble and he decided that would suit him just fine. Dal was silent and seemed to be contemplating things while Johnny and Emily talked about some movie they'd seen with Ponyboy the other week. As time wore on, everybody started to dwindle with everyone but Johnny deciding to take off and do god knows what. I grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sat with Johnny on the couch. He looked like a wreck and I just noticed how pale his face had grown.

"Go lay down," I said knowledgably, "It helps the ribs."

Johnny nodded and patted me lightly on the shoulder before going into my room for some rest. For a few minutes, I sat on the couch smoking a cigarette and sipping lightly at my beer. Stillwater was in a state of disarray and it was up to me to try and fix it. It wouldn't be easy but if I could talk to the heads of the gangs I figured I could get enough bodies on our side to convince anyone who needed more convincing. Besides, it was rougher than this when Pat and our gang had decided to fix it the first time.

"I'm coming with you," A voice from the screen door said causing me to jump out of my skin.

"Christ, don't sneak up on me or anything Dallas," I remarked.

"I'm coming too," He repeated.

My initial reaction was to say no. Then I remembered Dal's experience with the gangs in New York. Two-Bit would probably be happy if he came and Pat wants as many on our side as we can get.

"Sure," I said finally, "but don't expect this to change things between me and you."

Dally threw his hands up in exasperation before snarling, "I'm just trying to help. Can't you just leave it at that?"

Before I could answer, he took off again and told me to have Two-Bit let him know when we were leaving. Stunned, I watched the screen door slam and rubbed the back of my neck trying to figure things out.

'**Well that didn't go well.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Okay, there ya go. Another quick update. Let me know what you guys think with reviews. **


	36. Chapter 36

**Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. Karlieness I'm glad you like the idea of the gangs in Stillwater and you should like these next two chapters, as it will deal with Orion's return to her home. Once again, thanks to everyone for reading and enjoying the story. Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 36:**

We'd left Wednesday morning just after seven. Dallas had come into Two-Bit's room to shake us awake; we'd overslept as always. Dal hasn't been around lately and Steve told me he's been hanging with Shepard's crowd and blowing off steam in fights. We swung by the Curtis' to give Darry a ride to work because his truck was in for repairs.

"I appreciate it," Darry said, "Y'all come back safe and sound. Ya here?"

We all smirked. Darry really acts like our father sometimes and seeing how none of us has one, it's probably a good thing. After a quick goodbye we headed North to Stillwater. I was driving and my nerves were on edge. Things weren't good back home and it was pretty much up to me to change that. Two-Bit kept up a lively chatter while I chain-smoked for an hour. It was an amazing day; the sun was shining, there was a slight breeze, and the country air felt good. Knowing what I had waiting for me, though, I can't say I took much notice to it. Two hours later and a sign for the State Penn came into view. In my head, I prayed to whatever god there may be that Patrick had straightened himself out.

"Your brother appears to have turned over a new leaf," The guard told me, "Good for him because I was getting sick of throwing his ass into solitary."

Hearing this news made me more optimistic than the last time. I never wanted to see my brother act like he had the last time I'd visited. Pat was strong and charismatic and I couldn't watch him throw his life away. Dallas had turned to complete stone since the sight of the prison and I'm starting to worry that if he doesn't let go of the breath he's holding he's going to turn blue. Can't say I blame him though; Dal had done some hard time and if what my brother tells me is right, it's horrible. Two-Bit caught the seriousness of the situation and had slouched into normal greaser pose.

"Fancy seeing you here," My brother said as he enveloped me in a huge hug.

"God you look better," I replied.

And he did. Pat had gained back his muscles and tough figure. His hair was clean and greased back and he was playfully dangling a cigarette from his lip. His eyes were what had changed the most for they had life back in them again. For a while we shot the breeze and Pat got a kick out of good ol' Two-Bit. From my letters, my brother knew that Two-Bit and I are real close and he could now tell why; that guy can brighten any room he goes into, even here in a prison. One thing I'd left out in my letters is that Dallas and I had broken up. For one, I just didn't know how to say it and I didn't want my brother to kill Dally when he saw him today.

"You taking good care of my sister?" Pat asked him and then I froze.

Dal, the ever composed one, responded without any hesitation. He smiled, "Of course I am."

For good measure, he threw an arm over my shoulders and kissed my forehead lightly. Dally knew that my brother needed to stay calm and keep out of trouble if he was ever going to get out of here. I appreciated his gesture a lot, even though I knew he was still pissed about what I'd said when he told me he was coming to Stillwater. After a while, Pat and I finally got down to serious conversation.

"Jack and his boys think they can get our turf when our backs are turned," Pat told me wisely.

I listened when my brother spoke, not interrupting or disagreeing in the least. Patrick is smart and has a few more years than me and I would take his advice no questions asked. My obedience to Patrick was undeniably the biggest loyalty in my life. A cigarette found it's way to my lips as I finally got my chance to speak.

"I can get the Wheatley boys and Dupree to back off and chill out, but Jack and his boys and the Taggers are gunna be tough. They ain't ones to back down from a fight. How many goddamn times are we going to have to kick the shit out of these fuckers before they realize they're not running the show?" I said.

Pat just grinned and said they were all too bullheaded to quit while they were ahead. With our alliance, the local gangs would be safe. However, they all chose to run things alone and ended up getting hammered during rumbles and disputes.

"If Jack gets out of line, beat him within an inch of his life."

Patrick wasn't asking me to commit murder. Just a warning to get Jack and his outfit to understand we aren't messing around with this. Still, I'd never been told to rough somebody up that bad before and one mistake and someone's life would end by my hands. I've never defied my brother and I looked at him, hoping he would crack a smile and say he was joking. He never faltered and I knew deep down that he was serious.

"With Jesse being dead, and at Jack's gangs' hands, there is no other way any more. You're sixteen now, Orion. It's time to take responsibility for what you helped build. You ain't stupid. They're all out to prove themselves, but you gotta prove that we're running this. It's them or us and I'm not willing to die yet. Manipulation is the only way through these guys' heads."

Pat asked if I was getting soft, knowing it would piss me off. I told him to shut his mouth, that I'd do whatever I had to in order for the gangs to understand. Still, dragging Jack into an empty warehouse and having my boys beat him like that wasn't settling well in my stomach. My head was swimming when we left the prison and none of us were speaking.

Patrick's words were playing over and over again in my head.

'_You're sixteen now, Orion. It's time to take responsibility for what you helped build.'_

My friends and I had decided years ago that we weren't going to watch our friends get killed by the day. We'd decided to change the way things were run around here and created a gang that scared the living day lights out of people. Best friends since the beginning, we were strong and would do anything to protect one another. Most gangs don't have the relationship we all do and that's why we're on top. I'd helped build this and played a major role in its formation. Now that it was out of line, it was up to me to set it straight again.

"If either of you wanna back out now, I understand. This ain't gunna be pretty."

I knew neither of them was going anywhere though. They'd experiences similar things in Tulsa and weren't going to back down from this. It wasn't like either of them would get killed because nobody knows who they are. They are just two nameless guys fighting for the cause. Frankie, Jimmy, Rich, Preston, and I were the ones that everybody wanted to get a hold of. Alliances were going to be made and broken over these next few nights. Still, the odds were good for us. Many of the other gangs held loyalty to us for all the times that we've helped them out. Meetings and talks will be held and I'm pretty good at convincing people to see things my way.

"Nobody's gunna die, right?" Two-Bit asked, half-jokingly and half-serious.

"Jesus I hope not," I replied.

**END OF CHAPTER..**

**So things are pretty rough right now in Stillwater and Orion is feeling the pressure to change things. In this chapter I wanted to demonstrate exactly the type of place Orion is coming from. It also kinda helps to explain why her father beating on her isn't wrong in Orion's eyes. With what's going on in the streets, it's obvious that these kids are all coming from a rough life. Reviews please.**


	37. Chapter 37

**Thanks for all the reviews. It's awesome that you guys have stuck by this story and I'm glad you think it's only getting better. Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 37:**

I flicked my lighter in and out as I walked up the street to Frank's house. It was better to park your car a few blocks away from Frankie's since my friends tend to hotwire anything and everything without asking. The gang would all be there and I was anxious to see them. They were my family who had been there through it all and it killed me to be away from them. A few people recognized me and nodded their greeting to stay on my good side. As I stepped into the cluttered house, I felt myself being pulled every which way. I was being hugged, given beers to drink, and joints to smoke. Everybody was calling my name and it felt good to back. Introductions were made and my friends took well to Two-Bit and Dallas, which was expected; it wasn't like I would hang with a different crowd in Tulsa.

"We set up meetings with the Wheatleys and Dupree," Preston told me.

Preston was next in line after Frankie. While there were never any set rules, it was pretty obvious who ran things. Nobody ever complained because I didn't think I was better than anyone for being ahead of them and I kept them from getting jailed and killed. Basically, our gang can do whatever they want, within reason, as long as it doesn't involve causing any real damage between the rival gangs.

"Dupree owes me a favor," I said in reply, "I kept his brother from getting arrested when he pulled his blade at the Tavern last year."

Preston nodded and I knew he was making a note of it in his brain. That kid can remember anything and everything. He remembers every fight, meeting, and rumble and it helps us keep records straight. Myself, I only tend to remember my own fights while Preston can recall every fight any of us have ever been in. Ready to take charge again, I asked how everybody was doing at home and with money and stuff. Boys make real good gang leaders, but they tend to forget things like that. We've never been shy discussing that with each other and a few of my friends spoke up about their money and job issues. If you have extra money around here, it goes to those that need it. Reaching in my pocket, I pulled out two hundred dollars and told them to split it up however they want it. Stealing has always been a specialty of mine and that bracelet I'd managed to lift from the department store covered half of the money. Two hours of ambling around for a hundred bucks wasn't something to complain about. I noticed Janice got the biggest share and looked around the room questioningly, as she'd always been pretty well off at home and seldom took anything.

"My dad took off. Ma isn't doing good. She doesn't get up for work any more. I'm thinking about dropping out to get a job," The girl said as one of the guys threw a comforting arm around her.

Inside, I seethed. If I ever got left by my husband, I would spite him by providing for my kids better then he ever could. On the outside, I was cool and collected like this kind of stuff happened everyday.

"You take that and go buy some groceries. I'll stop over and have a talk with your old lady tomorrow, alright?"

The gang's problems always end up becoming your own problems. I know the responsibility Darry feels when something happens with one of us because I deal with it here too. Janice smiled at me and said she was glad I was home. Frank sulked in the corner, feeling like he'd messed up big time.

"You're doing fine," I told him as I pulled him into another room.

The gang knew to keep quiet while we went into the kitchen to discuss things. Some of them took off and I called Two-Bit and Dal into the room with us. They needed to know what was going on in order to understand all of this.

"I didn't think to go talk to her old lady," Frank said, "I've been making sure she's getting enough money though."

I smirked at my friend, "You're down three people because of me, Jesse, and Pat. You can't be everywhere at once, man. Besides, it's not like it was perfect when we were all here anyways."

Frankie took comfort in this and I noticed the huge bags under his eyes. I felt bad, leaving him here to deal with all of this, but he knew me too well and told me to stop acting like my father's actions were my fault. I breathed in deep before asking Frank just exactly what was going on around here.

"It's chaos, Ri. Worse then I ever thought it could get. Our friends are restless because there hasn't been a real rumble about Jesse yet, but Pat made it clear that he wanted to hold out because of everything else going on. Wheatley is doing back deals with some of the Dupree gang and there's talk that they're going to form something new. Stupidest idea I ever heard, but whatever it's in the making. Wheatley is all strung out on dope and those boys are angry when their high. Whatever happened to good old fashioned chill stoners? Dupree is on our side for sure, but wants to talk to us about those lowlife friends of his brothers plotting with Wheatley. Jack can dig his own fucking grave for all I'm concerned because I'm about to kill the son-of-a bitch for all the stunts he's been pulling lately. That shithead stole a car himself and tried to send Sammy to jail for it. The Taggers are bitter, as always, because they just suck all together, but it's not like they're a big threat. Unless they side with Jack, which is possible, but not likely."

I listened intently to everything Frank said, laughing when he threw his own input in here and there. The streets were going to shit and I was in awe. Who the hell do these people think they are to ruin everything we've built?

"Wheatley is who we need. Without them, it's going to be real tough. They always fight rough, bringing pipes and chains to the rumbles. If they're stoned it's going to be totally out of hand. We need that on our side. Dupree is usually on our side anyways and with the favor he owes me it's pretty much in the bag. Pat told me his plans for Jack."

Frankie leaned in closely, knowing it wasn't going to be good. I whispered them in his ear because our friends in the other room were doing their best to eavesdrop on our conversation. His eyes grew wide since that wasn't normally how we dealt with things, but he gave it his approval.

"It all starts tomorrow then. A few of us will meet with Wheatley and Dupree and figure out where we stand. Then, we'll go from there."

Our gang cheered in the living room and Frankie and I laughed. They were ready for a rumble to blow off some steam. None of us had forgotten about Jesse over the past few months and our blood was boiling in anticipation.

"Tonight, let's show these two a good time," I said and everyone cheered.

Obviously I wasn't going to let this entire trip be all business. That wouldn't be fair to either of them, especially Two-Bit because he's the one I'm on good terms with. Dallas and I are pleasantly ignoring each other, being civil when we need to be. Tonight we'll be taking them to the best party house in Stillwater to get good and drunk and show them our hospitality. Shoemaker's could be compared to Buck's; the two houses are the same atmosphere except Shoemaker doesn't play stupid country music. Two-Bit's in love with the new selection of girls while my friends are quizzing Dal about our relationship. I was squirming but Dallas was calm as ever. He came over to me smirked dangerously.

"Didn't tell your friends about the big breakup?" Dally asked as he took a step closer to me, "Now why might that be?"

Before I could answer, Dal spoke for me, "Maybe because you don't wanna be broken up with me. Or that telling them would make it real and permanent, which you don't want?"

I watched as Dal soaked up the pleasure of being right. There was no way to argue it or lie about it; Dally had hit the nail right on the head and he knew it. It killed me that I still wanted him after everything.

"You got a bundle of shit you have to deal with right now. Why deal with me not being your boyfriend when I'm here in front of you and I'm sorrier than I've ever been in my entire life?"

A bottle of Jack was getting passed around and I grabbed at it eagerly before swigging some of it down. Dallas stood patiently in front of me, offering me his beer to chase with and I took it gratefully. He took it back from my hand and set it down on the table, closing the space between us. If I looked up, I would kiss him.

"It's true then, you are back."

My eyes turned to ice as I pushed Dal back and spotted Jack Bringham. Jesse was dead because of him and the revenge we had taken before wasn't enough. My gang lined up next to me and we struck our toughest poses. Preston laid his hand casually on my shoulder before telling Jack to get lost. After seeing him face to face for the first time I didn't think it would be hard to beat his ass if he didn't agree to our treaty. In fact, I think I'll kind of enjoy it. Shoemaker was exasperatedly telling us this was neutral territory and to take it outside if we had any problems with that.

"Tonight, we're fine," I stated calmly, "Tomorrow is when it all starts."

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Thanks for all the reviews on the chapters. I've been getting them out as quick as possible and hope you enjoyed this one. Reviews.**


	38. Chapter 38

**Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. There will be two more chapters in Stillwater before the gang returns to Tulsa. Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 38:**

My boots clunked as I walked up the stairs to Frank's house. This morning I'd headed over to Janice's to have a talk with her mother and I think she'll get herself back on track. Sometimes you just need a little push from someone who isn't family to see how bad you're messing up. My father had been at the Rusty's, as always, and we'd gotten into a little tiff. He'd only gotten on good punch before Rusty had pulled him off of me; Rusty's always been pretty good to us. In truth, I'd been looking for a fight with him and was glad that my lip had a gash on it, since it had settled my nerves some. Stepping over a bunch of drunken bodies, including Dal and Two-Bit, I headed into the kitchen and used the stove to light up a cigarette. This took awhile because my hands were shaking in rage. The nicotine burned my cut with every inhale but I decided the cigarette was worth it. Last night after Jack and his gang had left, the party had been pretty good. I didn't drink much because I had things to deal with today. The rest of my gang, however, I couldn't say the same for. I was sharpening my switch when Ian graced me with his presence.

"I got with Janice last night," He said offhandedly as he rustled himself up a drink, "I'm taking her out once this whole mess blows over."

Ian was a real good-looking kid, but he was too wild for my liking. That boy did whatever the hell he wanted without ever thinking. He was a damn good fighter but he'd never be one of the top in our gang because he was the type of guy who would get somebody killed real easy. Ian lived for the old days where we weren't in gangs and fought for ourselves. Still, Ian would keep Janice safe and without her father around I guess she kind of needed somebody like that. Janice was one of the few permanent girls who ran with our gang and she's always been dependent. Pat had raised me not to be that way and I can get along on my own if I have to. Stifling a yawn, I drank some milk out of the carton knowing there wouldn't be any clean cups and lit up another cigarette. Today would be a day of waiting it seemed and I just wanted the action to go down right now.

"Easy, Ri," Ian commented on my agitation, "You and Pat always did get keyed up before a fight. Nice lip by the way. Your old man paid you a visit then."

"More like I paid him one," I replied before stalking off down the road.

I couldn't hang around and wait for whenever those hungover bums would decide to get up and face the day. Can't be too mad at any of them, though, since I would normally be on that floor with them. My meeting with Dupree would be between me and him. Neither of us would have to bring any backup; that's not the type of terms we're on. With two hours to spare, I ducked into Skip's Bar and played a game or two of pool. Some of the regulars remembered me, since I often frequented the place if I rose with the sun. It was one of two bars in safe territory and if I attended the other I would be spending more quality time with dear old pop.

"Where you been?" Skip asked as he placed a napkin down followed by a drink.

Never passing down a free drink, I sipped gingerly before telling him I'd been around. Nobody needs to know where I've been; it's none of their goddamn business. Soon it was time and I headed over to the docks to discuss things with Dupree.

"Flighter, I've heard some stories about you, honey," Dupree said as he wrapped me in a friendly hug.

I'd always wanted Dupree to be a part of our gang, but that wasn't the way things fell. He was easygoing but tough and he would fit in more with our gang, more like Darry's, than his own, more like Tim's. Only a few blocks separated us and he'd do well in our outfit. You can't dwell on things like that so I shook the thoughts from my head before getting down to business.

"Look," Dupree said before I could get a word in, "We're on your side. No questions asked. Jesse was a buddy of ours and we ain't cool with all the shit Jack's been causing. That prick sent one of his sluts after my girl and we got into it outside of Benny's. I really was considering slitting that fucker's throat. What I need to talk to you is Terry from Wheatley trying to push some of my boys to start a new gang. He's going after the young guys, telling them they'll be officer if they do it. Since when have we even had officers in our gangs?"

Everybody was searching for the old days today it seems. Gangs in Stillwater haven't appointed officers in years. It creates tension and causes people to do stupid things. Running a gang off of loyalty is the better way to go than a power struggle. Obviously Wheatley knew nothing about Terry causing trouble because his head would have bashed in before any of us could even count to three. Dupree told me Wheatley would be getting here any minute.

"As soon as he shoots up," he added darkly.

Wheatley was hard to get the point across to, that's how high he was when he arrived at the docks. His brother seemed straight and grew furious at the news. With a promise that they'd straighten Terry out and that they'd be on our side if a rumble broke out, we all departed. The Taggers and Jack remained. I wouldn't waste my time with the Taggers due to the fact that there had never been an alliance between us and I'd be embarrassed if there ever was. Still, the alliances we'd had were being reassured, even if we'd have to drop Wheatley if they didn't get the drug use under control. Wheatley and Dupree were easy, though, and always had been. They see things the same way we do and are just trying to stay alive. There would be a rumble sometime soon and we had the odds on our side whenever it happened.

"You went without us?" Preston asked disappointedly as I stepped into the house, which was now full of life since it was late in the afternoon.

"Didn't wanna seem like a punk," I replied.

I filled our gang in on the news and told Frankie to gather a few of our best fighters to hunt down Jack Larson. Frank asked what he was supposed to say when they found him and I laughed hard.

"That he can forget about running the streets cause they're ours."

My friends whooped and cheered at this, claiming they were going to stomp Jack's guts in. Yep, a rumble is brewing alright and none of us are gunna stop until we avenge Jesse's name.

'**This is for you, Jess.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Looks like there's going to be a rumble soon. Reviews please.**


	39. Chapter 39

**This is the last chapter taking place in Stillwater. Read on to figure out how things play out. Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 39:**

My forehead felt cool as I rested it against the window of the dark warehouse. Ian and the boys are taking longer than expected and I hope they didn't run into any trouble. A cigarette finds its way to my lips and I light it with a steady hand. I'm playing it cool even though this whole situation is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Two-Bit and Dallas are no better; they're standing edgily in the corner wondering exactly is going to happen tonight. Just goes to show you that even the toughest hoods get jumpy over this type of thing. I see headlights after a few minutes and bite my lip in anticipation. A piercing whistle infects the still night air and I return it quickly.

"It's all set," I say to no one in particular.

"I feel like I'm in a mob movie," Two-Bit states half-jokingly.

My gaze fell on my best friend and I smiled weakly at him as I wondered why the hell I mixed him and Dal up in this. They have no loyalties here and if something were to happen to them I'll have to hold that guilt with me for the rest of my life. Stillwater isn't safe for anyone, especially two out-of-town hoods who buddy around with the leader of the strongest gang on the South side. The doors of the warehouse opened up loudly and I watched as Ian, Preston, Frankie, Jimmy, and Sammy ushered in a slightly battered Jack. He'd obviously needed a little "persuasion" to come along for the ride and I grinned at my gang in gratitude. I hated sending others to do my job, but if Orion Flighter ever strolled into Jack Larson's territory, the whole place would be up in arms in about ten seconds.

"Jack, we have some issues to discuss," I say calmly.

I know my eyes have the look about them that I always get before a fight. The color is slowly draining from the room and it reminds me of what's about to come. Jack isn't listening to me and I nod at the gang to manhandle him a bit. I'm not myself any more and I barely recognize my own voice, barely recognize my hands connecting with Jack's flesh. This isn't how life is supposed to be for a sixteen year old. Ponyboy once told me if we didn't live around here we would have had a shot at being something and it's really making me wonder if I'm gunna be considered a JD my whole life. Jesse's on all of our minds and we keep pummeling Jack until we're satisfied. I don't have the heart to get Ian to stop until he slams Jack's head hard on the ground.

"That's enough," I said breathlessly, "He's no good to us dead."

Larson's just writhing around on the ground and I watch him for a bit. He looks like the snake he really is and I hate his lying, sack of shit guts right now. When we were younger, we used to pal around and stuff. We were on the same bus and he used to live on my street. That was a lifetime ago. Jack mutters that we're all as good as dead once he gets out of here and Preston starts telling him how it is. All I'm speculating is when in the hell Preston got so damn profound.

"As good as dead, huh? That's real cute, Jack. You gunna gang up on us like you did Jess and take us out one by one? Try that with any of us again and you can take it as a fucking fact that you'll be dead before the sun sets and that's a goddamn promise. Larson, your boys are only loyal to you as long as you don't mess up and you've been messing up pretty good lately. Leaders fall all the time and if you even suggest taking us on they'll rip you apart before we can get to ya."

A realization wipes over the boy's face as he comprehends that he'll never win. We're too strong, too loyal, and too proud to ever let that happen. I'm in a blind rage as I think about Jesse dying all alone on the boulevard and by Jack's hands. Suddenly, it's not enough for me and I'm beating on him again. This time, Jack doesn't sit up and lies groaning on the floor. Ian is grinning wildly at me and winks in agreement with my actions.

"My orders are to beat you within an inch of your life," I screamed, "And I always follow my orders. Today you get to live. Take this as a blessing and get any thoughts you have about ruling the streets out of your fucking head."

We left him there then; alone with his thoughts and pain. The doors to the warehouse are shut and I know Jack's sitting in darkness and cursing himself for killing Jesse. Larson's never been the best leader, but he'd always kept himself under the radar until this. He fucked up big time and he'll never recover. I'd put money down that in less than six months Jack's killed by one of his own. There's two cars waiting for us and we pile in accordingly. I'm sitting in the back of Frankie's car with Dallas and Two-Bit who haven't said a word since this whole thing started.

"That was pretty nuts," Jimmy said as he lit up a smoke.

I'm on edge and everybody knows it. I'd gone out of character and played cool and collected. Usually, Pat and I are the riled up ones with crazy eyes and leering grins. The only problem with going out of character is that I can't seem to slip back into myself. Still, as a leader it's my duty to be strong for everybody and I tell Frankie to head by the liquor store to get alcohol to celebrate the fact that we're still running the show. This wiped out the silence of the car and a happy chatter started. We've been in fights before and can't let this one get us down. After a few shots in me I'll know I'll be good and I start sipping one of the bottles on the ride home.

"There's the Orion we know," Two-Bit said as he launched into some story about a party we'd gone to last month.

I'm buzzing as we step out of the house and Preston starts telling the story to everybody. They're all pleased and I raise my bottle in triumph. A small smile creeps on my face as I look into the eyes of the people I grew up with. We're leaving tomorrow and I'm regretting it. If there was a way to connect both my worlds I'd do it in a second. However, right now there is no time for these thoughts. It's my going away party and I'm getting wasted.

Within an hour and my head is really starting to spin. Two-Bit and I have been dancing for the past twenty minutes and we need some shots. Jimmy hugged me as I walked past him into the kitchen and I give the boy a friendly kiss on the cheek. Sammy and Dal are talking about god knows what while Two-Bit pours two shots of rum apiece.

"To Dally driving our hungover asses home tomorrow," Two-Bit joked.

Dal laughs along with us and I catch his eye for a second. He walks over to me with a confused look on his face.

"Thanks for coming out here. I'm glad we can still be friends after all of this," I said.

"We ain't friends," Dallas replied as he wiped some hair out of my face, "We're more than friends and you know it."

All I can think to do at this moment is drink some more alcohol. After the next round of shots, I'm swaying on my feet and grab lightly onto the front of Dallas' jacket to steady myself. Dal knew that I was ready to pass out and grabbed my hand lightly to lead me to a bedroom. He took off my shoes and covered me with a blanket before taking a seat on a chair next to the bed.

"What're you doing?" I asked drunkenly.

"Your gang knows pretty many people. I don't trust all those hoods coming in for the party. Go to sleep, Orion, you're exhausted," Dal replied.

What Dallas said was true. These last few days I've been running on a few hours of sleep due to everything I'd had to deal with. Dally was missing a good party on account of me and I scooted over and told him to lie down. He refused at first but after I told him that if he tried anything he was a dead man, Dal laid down and turned his back to me.

"You're making it hard for me to hate you Dallas Winston," I stated before I slipped into unconsciousness.

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Thank you for all the reviews on the last few chapters. This chapter was a little hard for me to get out because I wanted this to be the last Stillwater chapter but didn't wanna leave the Jack/Stillwater tension and the Dally/Orion tension unfinished once again. This chapter turned out just how I wanted it and I hope you all like it. Reviews please.**


	40. Chapter 40

**Thank you soo much for all the reviews on the last chapter. Summerlovestoread, I thought that "and I'm glad you didn't have her kill anyone cause that would be kinda awkward" was hilarious. Thanks. Alright, the gang is back in Tulsa. Here we go with …**

**CHAPTER 40:**

Two-Bit woke us up just after noon the next morning, which is funny because it's normally me who's dragging him out of bed after a night of boozing. Dallas found it easy to get up and going because he hadn't been drinking much last night, but I felt nauseous and lit a cigarette up weakly.

"I need to lie down," I stated as we piled into the car.

The goodbyes with the gang had been quick and simple. We don't make a huge show out of it and pretend like it's no big deal when it really tears us all apart. Two-Bit let me have the backseat so I left him and Dal to fight over the radio and drifted to sleep.

"You want anything to eat?" Dally asked as he pulled into a Dairy Queen halfway through our journey.

Nodding, I sat up asked for a burger and a coke. I climbed in between the two boys to use the rearview mirror to fix my hair and remove the smudges of makeup. The rest of the journey went quickly with me smoking and thinking about things. There's gunna be a rumble in Stillwater sometime soon and I know I'll have to swing up there some weekend to participate in it.

"Home sweet home," Two-Bit remarked as we pulled into the outskirts of town.

It felt good to be back here. We let the door slam as we piled into the Curtis' house. I was sporting a few bruises on my face from the little scuffs I'd gotten in and Darry fussed over my lip.

"Just a little present from my Pop," I said with a smirk.

They all wanted to know what went down and I told them. It was funny to be talking about everything that had happened over the last few days, but I filled them in on the news back in Stillwater and Steve clapped me on the back for the way I'd handled Jack.

"You're forgetting the part where I found you and Dally in a bed this morning looking all comfy-cozy," Two-Bit mocked.

Dal was on him in about two seconds and they wrestled around for a while till Dallas got a little too rough and Darry told him to take it outside or knock it off. I watched in amusement and Dal caught me admiring him and winked playfully. Quickly, I dodged his gaze and strode into the kitchen and got a glass of chocolate milk. The sound of a match being lit startled me and I was happy that it was just Ponyboy.

"Sneaking up on me, Pon?" I asked.

The boy smiled at me and took a swig out of my glass before asking what had happened with Dal in Stillwater. Ponyboy usually kept his mouth shut good, but he knew he could get away with certain things when it came to me. It wasn't like I would ever slug him or anything like that; I care about him too much and I think Darry would bury me alive.

"I realized I don't hate him as much as I thought," I admitted.

After shaking his head, Pony realized that I was battling myself against letting Dallas in again and keeping him at a distance for good. He handed me his cigarette and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"No one's gunna think you're weak or anything," He said slowly, "Besides, it's not like he committed some type of horrible sin against you. He took up for one of his best buddies out of trust. You wouldn't do the same thing?"

As I said, Ponyboy Curtis isn't one to pry, but for some reason he'd decided to pry today and I was in disbelief. I tried to picture the situation with the tables turned; who would I believe if it was Dallas' word versus Janice's or one of the other girls in the gang? Honestly, I couldn't come up with the truth and that really got me mad. Things are supposed to be simple, but when it came to this, everything seemed to be grey instead of black and white. Deciding the only quick fix to this would be to drink a little bit, I hunted around in the icebox and found the whiskey that Two-Bit had stashed in there before we'd left. The liquid tasted stale and bitter and I was glad that I'd been drinking for so long or it would have been hard to keep down.

"Let's go bum around," I said as I walked back into the living room, bottle in hand.

Everybody agreed, except Darry, and I smiled at the twenty-year-old. I decided then if somehow I ever got out of this town and made a bundle of money I'd give some of it to Darry and he wouldn't have to bust his hump any more. Next thing I knew, Steve was ripping the bottle out of my hand and took a long guzzle out of it.

"You and Two-Bit sure do drink the worst liquor," Steve said in disgust.

The two of us grinned evilly and took turns sipping from the bottle. We're quite a pair and we know it. We headed to the lot to wait for the moon to come up so our Friday night could get started. Drink, pass, drink, pass, consisted of my next twenty minutes, as Two-Bit and I downed the whiskey successfully. Feeling soused and ready to go, we headed over to the Dingo to hear the recent gossip. Dallas was pulled away almost immediately for some rodeo talk while the rest of us heard about the soc-greaser brawl that had happened outside of the high school yesterday.

"I stomped Richter's face in so good," Curly bragged.

He was drunk himself and tried to sweet talk me into hanging with him tonight. All I did was laugh, since Curly was only fooling around and being wasted.

"My kid brother bothering you?" Tim asked coolly with a cigarette dangling between his lips.

Dallas suddenly reappeared by Tim's side with a look of annoyance on his face. Curly loves to push Dal over the edge and it's usually quite a sight to see. I never did get to answer Tim because some grease with a two-by-four decided to break up the good times at the Dingo to settle the score with a certain Shepard who had put a brick through their window.

"Let's beat it 'fore the fuzz show," Steve said seriously, "I don't feel like getting dragged in tonight."

I had to agree with him and we took off pretty quick. Through his fight, Tim yelled that we should meet him at Buck's to celebrate his win. Soda, Pony, and Johnny opted to head home and we walked with them to nip a few beers out of the fridge and pick up Two-Bit's wheels. No one cared much that Two-Bit was driving us after all the booze he'd consumed and I got to Buck's feeling a little green around the gills. Steve and I danced for a few songs until we were out of breath and sat with Dal and Two-Bit at the bar. Some girl wearing pounds of makeup and pretty much no shirt was hitting on Dallas and I felt a twinge of jealousy even though Dally seemed to barely acknowledge her. Not realizing I had been staring, the girl called me out on it after a few moments.

"What the hell are you lookin' at?" She cackled before cursing me out.

Steve shook his head and told the girl she was about to get rocked. After taking a sip of my fresh beer, I walked over to the girl and asked if she wanted to take things outside. The party had stopped and everybody was watching us with interest. Tim shouted that we could celebrate our victory together and I shot him a grin. To my dismay, I noticed the girl was doped up and swore; this bitch would really be a handful now. She took a cheap swing at me before we stepped out the door and I stumbled back a few inches before realizing what was going on.

"That all you can handle?" She taunted.

If there's one thing I can't stand in fights, its cheap shots. I like to win my fights fair and it pisses me off that few people share my opinion. Right there in Buck's living room, this girl and I started duking it out, with me handing her everything I had. She was a decent fighter, but I'd fought rougher. Buck stopped me after I'd beaten her up pretty good, telling me that she'd had enough. The dope fiend tried another feeble attempt and I clipped her jaw so hard that she stopped mid-swing. Fights are a common thing at Buck's and it was over as quickly as it had started. A few blows had been done to my body, but she hadn't gotten any good shots to my face and I decided that I was in good enough shape to hang around. Shots came pouring in and I drowned the steady pain in my ribs away with them. I'd lost my buzz, though, and was glad I wasn't stumbling drunk again. We lasted another hour before Steve had drunk the place pretty much dry.

"You showed that girl not to mess with you," Steve slurred as we piled into Two-Bit's clunker.

I laughed at Steve and let him pass out on my shoulder. There was a jagged scar on his arm and I figured from the broken window in the front of house that he and his dad had gotten into it again. It was only a five minute drive to Two-Bit's and I plopped down on the porch to have a cigarette before heading inside. Dallas sat next to me and I looked ahead awkwardly.

"Jealous much tonight?" He joked.

"She called me out," I replied casually.

We both laughed at this, knowing how stubborn I am about things. Dal stood and draped his jacket lightly across my shoulders before heading inside and I was instantly comforted by the familiar smell of Dally.

'**Oh God, What am I doing?'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Well there ya go. Orion, Two-Bit, and Dallas are back in Tulsa again and of course drama follows this gang everywhere. I hope you all liked it. Reviews please. **


	41. Chapter 41

**Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. It means a lot that people are still reading and reviewing the story. Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 41:**

When I went inside to get some rest last night, Steve had been drunkenly passed out in my bed. I'd told Two-Bit to scoot over and he threw an arm over me before falling back to sleep. Sarah had come in to wake us this morning and cooed about how adorable the two of us looked.

"I swear, y'all are the cutest things when you're sleeping."

Steve groaned at the early morning interruption and threw a pillow over his head to sleep off his hangover. Two-Bit and I sat talking quietly; he wanted to know about me and Dally. After we'd been talking for a while, and Steve had thrown everything under the sun to shut us up, Two-Bit pushed me out of bed and we searched out some breakfast.

"Y'all are just right for each other. It's a shame to put that to waste," Two-Bit stated as he hunted up some eggs.

I looked over at Dallas, clad in only a pair of jeans, who was sitting and watching TV. He smirked at me and I knew he'd heard. Tired of the drama, I pushed the situation far from my mind and went into the living room to find my cigarettes. I lit up and looked at a picture Sarah must have placed on the coffee table while we were in Stillwater. It was all of us, the whole gang. It had been taken at the DX a few weeks ago when Sarah had come in for a fill up. Sodapop had his arm draped over Steve's shoulders and the two of them were laughing with wild eyes. Darry was watching over Ponyboy with a small smile on his face while he and Johnny posed for the camera with matching grins. Two-Bit was making a crazy face and was in mid-air and about to topple onto Dallas and I, who were holding onto each other to keep from falling over in laughter because of Two-Bit's actions.

"Remember this?" I asked the two boys.

They examined the picture and both had smiles on their faces. As much shit as we all go through, seeing this moment where we had all been happy made it all worthwhile. Steve came stumbling out of the bedroom rubbing his eyes furiously and I figured he could really use a cup of coffee and some toast. Cranking up the radio slightly, I swayed around the kitchen and fixed breakfast for the three boys, Emily, and one of Emily's friends.

"Y'all sure were loud coming in last night," Emily groaned as she poured herself a cup of orange juice.

Seating myself on the counter, I listened to Emily and Two-Bit bicker back and forth. Emily's friend, Sonya, stared in amusement and eyed the boys warily. Greaser girls are skeptical of all men, even their friend's brothers. Steve motioned for the girl to sit down at the table and slowly she made her way over.

"They ain't gunna bite you," Emily told Sonya.

I played with the fray of Two-Bit's old gym shorts that I was wearing and lit up a cigarette to really wake me up. There were no empty chairs at the table so I just picked at a piece of toast because I was too lazy to grab one from the dining room.

"You think I could come out with y'all tonight?" Emily asked suddenly.

It's safe to say that Two-Bit and I both choked on our orange juice after that comment. Emily had turned fourteen a few months back, so her and Ponyboy are the same age, but it's different between boys and girls. Actually, it's different when it comes to Emily because she hadn't seen enough action to be safe if we got in a bind. Most grease girls can hold their own, but being so young, Emily was only starting to enter the world of fights, booze, and switchblades. She didn't grow up wandering the streets and causing trouble like I had. She was tough, I'd give her that, but experience is what matters out there.

"You got your own friends," Two-Bit growled, trying to end the discussion, "And Luke. You two are still on, right?"

"Please, Emily broke up with him for Jeff," Sonya gossiped.

I chuckled. When you're fourteen, you tend to go through those stages of two-week boyfriends. Being severely worried that Two-Bit was about to have a conniption, I suggested that we had the gang over tonight to kick back a few beers and hang out here and play cards or something. That way, Emily could have a story to tell at school on Monday and we wouldn't have to be worried about anything getting out of hand. Emily mentioned that my lip was bleeding and I cursed good-naturedly for a couple moments.

"That bitch musta split it open again. I swear, I'm gunna fight that girl again next time I see her," I stated as I began to brag about last night's fight.

Greasers have a hang up for bragging. We all tend to do it for absolutely no reason; I guess it makes us feel good. None of us have anything worth boasting about so it's left to fights, Friday night dates, and beer blasts. I declared that we should pick up a few cases of beer and a bottle of wine for the girls for tonight. Two-Bit was all in favor and would be using the fact that he'd been gone for a few days in order to celebrate his return with getting crocked every night and I'll be right next to him on that.

"Well looky at Orion here bummin' around and it being after noon and everything," Soda remarked as he strode in with Ponyboy, Johnny, and Tim.

I laughed at my appearance. Two-Bit's shorts were real baggy on me and reached my knees and I was wearing an old DX shirt of Steve's that had the sleeves cut off. Hell, I looked like a hoodrat and I didn't care one bit at that moment in time.

"You're just upset you can't look this good in the morning," I taunted.

Tim remarked that he wished the girls he messed around with looked as good as I did in the morning and I told him that maybe if he was more selective with the girls he chose he wouldn't have to be wishing that. Shepard ain't one for being refined and I've grown accustomed to his comments. Dallas and Tim have always buddied around and that meant I've spent many nights in the company of Mr. Timothy Shepard and have learned to fight fire with fire if you dig what I mean. He called me a spitfire before him and Dally left to do god-knows-what, but I can assure you it wasn't something legal.

"I swear, those two are quite the pair," Soda said with a low whistle and I raised my eyebrows in agreement.

We never had that get together that night. There were no beers being drunk and no friendly arguments being had over a game of cards. Instead, we all watched Two-Bit's neighbors' house burn to the ground. One of the little kids had started a kitchen fire and it had gotten out of control. The firefighters took years to get here and we all knew it was because we're on the north side. Our houses aren't worth saving I guess. I know it reminded Johnny, Dallas, and Ponyboy of the church up in Windrixville. None of them like to talk about it much, but you can tell when Johnny or Pony is thinking about it. Can't imagine how I would be if I ever had murder on my conscience. Steve said he didn't know things burned up so quick.

"I burned down my old house the day after my mother died," I told him.

And I had. We'd been living with Frankie by then while my dad lived in the rundown apartment that I ran away from all those months ago and I'd taken a can of gasoline and a match and burned our little house to the ground. Patrick and I had done it together. We agreed that nobody should get to live in our house but us. We figured we'd made mom proud. That was while Patrick's trial was going on to see if he would be going to prison. It's a wonder we both didn't end up in the slammer for that stunt. It'll be a year soon, a year since my mother's been dead. All the time I wonder how things would be turning out if she was still around. That day isn't going to be a good one because I feel like a year really makes it official. Sometimes when the phone used to ring or the door would slam I would think it was her. That doesn't happen much any more. Watching the house burn down gave us all an eerie calm.

"Mom would have known what to say to Mrs. Billows to get her to stop crying," Ponyboy said suddenly.

Soda threw an arm around both of his brothers and their eyes glittered in the flames. None of the boys usually mentioned their parents. That's one of those things that takes time to talk about and I know that from firsthand experience. My mom was sick for four years before she died so I'd had plenty of time to get used to the thought that she wasn't going to be around and I'm just now being able to talk about her with people other than Patrick.

"You're right, kid," Steve said softly, "She would have known exactly what to say."

Too bad none of us did. It irked me that Sarah and Emily were over there consoling the Billows' and I was too cold to give them much thought. If Ponyboy hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have even noticed Mrs. Billows was crying. I look out for my own and that's about all I can handle. Call it my cold upbringing from my father or my years on the streets, but I can turn off all emotions at the drop of a hat. Throw me into any situation and I'll take it in stride, without batting an eyelash. That's the truth and I can't say it's something I'm proud or not proud of, but it seems to have worked so far. One of the little kids looked my way and I waved slightly. The kid smiled and nodded in my direction.

'**Guess I'm not such a hood after all.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**So here's a chapter not full of Dally/Orion drama. I really like this chapter because it shows development for Orion. Reviews please.**


	42. Chapter 42

**Thanks so much for the reviews on the last chapter of the story. It seems like we have some new readers/reviewers and I'm glad to see the story is still popular. Sorry it took me a little bit to update but I've been busy. Hope you guys enjoy the next chapter. Reviews please! Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 42:**

The Billow house didn't stand for much longer once the firefighters had gotten there. They're moving away to move in with Mr. Billows' parents up in Brandywine. It still smells like smoke around here and we were warned to be careful of the ashes should a dust storm spring up. They drove away with nothing more than their old Chevy and the clothes on their backs. Too bad for them, but it's a known fact that us East-siders can never catch a break. Two-Bit and I are freshly showered and are having a cigarette before we head to school. We're sitting on the porch and staring at the ruins.

"Still can't believe that's all that's left of it," Two-Bit remarked as he pointed at the ashes.

I nodded in agreement and we both inhaled deeply. We talked about what we would make sure to bring with us if our house ever caught on fire. Two-Bit said his fancy switchblade that we all know is his pride and joy and I couldn't come up with a damn thing.

"Maybe I'd grab that picture your Mother took," I decided.

Two-Bit joked and said I was getting too sentimental to be hanging with the likes of him and the two of us took off bouncing towards the car. We talked about what the rest of the gang would bring if it was them. Ponyboy would bring one of his cherished books, Sodapop his ring that he'd given to Sandy, Darry his letterman's jacket that he keeps tucked in the back of his closet, Steve his tools for working on his car, and Dallas would bring his leather jacket, his most prized possession. Neither of us could figure anything that Johnny would bring out, mainly because he didn't have nothing inside of his house.

"Guess we're all just a little sentimental then," Two-Bit declared evenly once we'd arrived at the Curtis house.

It made sense to me. When you don't have much worth having, the stuff you got becomes even more valuable to you. Everybody was at the Curtis house when we got there. Since we were early, we headed in as opposed to honking and found all the boys watching TV, running around for a clean shirt, and eating breakfast. I sat down at the table next to Steve who nodded at me in greeting. I wiped at my eyes tiredly and felt myself beginning to twitch a little which meant I was falling asleep. Two-Bit decided to be a pal and tipped my chair over. My body met the ground very quickly and I jerked awake in disorientation. I chased Two-Bit out into the yard and jumped off of the porch onto his back causing us both to land on the ground. We were about dying of laughter until one of the neighbors told us to shut it.

"You scraped your chin," I told Two-Bit who shrugged off the minor injury.

School was pretty interesting for once because Two-Bit and I hadn't been there in such a long time. Every teacher asked us for an excuse and for our homework and we had a glorious time of making up stories about where we'd been and why we didn't have any work done. The greasers were all howling at our responses and the two of us basked in the splendor. Lunch came quickly and we headed to the Dingo for burgers. I was enjoying the cool breeze of the diner's fan and smoking a cigarette joyfully, watching Steve tease Pony about a date he'd been on last weekend. Ponyboy's just beginning to have interest in girls and he's such a doll that the grease girls are falling all over him. He tends to date the conservative, smarter girls and I'm proud of him. That boy does not need some fake-blonde airhead to inflate his ego.

"Soda and I fetched up a couple of dates and are gonna head to the nightly double this Friday. Do y'all wanna come?" Steve asked, running his hands through his complicated swirls as the waitress he'd been eyeing walked by.

Steve had really warmed up to Ponyboy over the last couple of months. He doesn't see him as a tagalong any more and I'm glad that the two of them are getting along. It made Soda sick that his two favorite people in the world were so bitter to each other. Personally, I don't know why it took Steve such a long time to want to be around Ponyboy; that kid keeps his head better than anybody I know and he's a good friend who's good in a jam. I contemplated what I was going to do about Friday night. If I wanted to go to the movies, I would need a date and I haven't dated anybody since Dallas.

"Come with me," Two-Bit concluded.

And I'll add that to the list of reasons as to why Two-Bit Matthews is my best friend. Going with him meant nothing but friendship and a good time and that sounded just fine to me.

"Ya sure you wanna give up one of your precious Fridays for me?" I joked.

He pretended to think about his response and I punched his arm playfully. Ponyboy and Johnny walked quickly back into the school building in fear of being late for their next class while Two-Bit, Steve, and I sat on the hood of the car and smoked up. A woman and her teenage daughter were descending the stairs of the school and the girl waited while her mother went to get the car. By the time Steve and Two-Bit were done laying into her, I had wanted to crawl underneath the car. Those two sure can come up with some pretty crude comment if they put their minds to it and I shook my head good-naturedly before walking past the girl and nodding at her. She was grease, the same as us, and deserved at least some respect. I suffered through my last classes of the day and exited through the back of the building in relief. School has never been my thing but I figure if I graduate I'll have some shot when I'm older. Curly and Angel gestured me over to their little group and I greeted them with a smirk.

"Y'all must be up to something," I said as the two grinned back, thick as thieves.

It turned out that Tim had surprised his brother and sister with a set of fantastic wheels. The car was probably stolen and had traveled over a few states in order to prevent the fuzz from suspecting anything. That car was tuff and a fancy, royal blue color. It was nice enough to be the envy of the greaser neighborhood but inconspicuous enough that it would sit under the police radar. Steve about passed out when he saw Curly and Angel bolt out of the parking lot with the radio blaring loudly.

"I'd kill for a car like that," He stated darkly.

Steve's pickup ain't nothing to squawk at, but it sure as hell doesn't compare to that car. He whistled in admiration before clambering into Two-Bit's vehicle for a lift to the shop. His truck was parked at the DX because it needed a few repairs. I felt bad for old Steve right then. If there's one thing that he wanted in this world it was a tuff car. All the cars he gets to work on just bitters the boy even more.

"You'll have it one day Stevie," I responded as I climbed in next to him.

I wondered why Tim had picked now to reward his siblings with the car. He'll probably get hauled in over the next couple of weeks and go to prison for something he'd done. Tim usually lets Curly and Angel down easy when he knows he's going to get put away. Last time, it had been a handsome switchblade for Curly and a beautiful necklace for Angela. This must be a lot bigger if Tim's giving them a car. Or maybe he was just sick of driving those two knuckleheads all over hell and gone. The next couple of weeks would tell all. My mind began to wander to the one thing I've been trying to avoid these past few days. The fire had reminded me of it. Like a cold wind, I could feel it approaching, dark and desperate to rattle me. The one year anniversary is almost upon me, stifling and choking me like nothing ever had before. I'm not one to crack under pressure but this is one day I wished never had to come.

'**My poor mother.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Let me know what you think of this chapter with REVIEWS. Next chapter will focus on Orion dealing with the one year anniversary of her mother's death. I'll get it out as soon as possible. Thanks for reading.**


	43. Chapter 43

**I am sooo sorry that this chapter took me so long to get up, but thanks to my nice computer, the chapter I had originally written out got deleted last week and I didn't have the heard to starting writing again. Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter and I hope this one is enjoyable. It focuses on Orion's mother, as the story has been leading up to, and how she deals with it. Okay, here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 43:**

I woke up in a cold sweat for the third straight day in a row. I've never had nightmares, even when I was little, so it was chilling that I was having them now. It was just before three o'clock in the morning and the stars twinkled in the country sky. With shaky legs, I carried myself out onto the porch and lit a cigarette. Today is the day; the day that has been leaving a bad taste in my mouth for the past week. My mother has officially been gone for one year. Usually, my troubles and worries don't invade my sleep and I angrily crawled the streets of Tulsa, looking for something to numb myself. My emotions can typically be contained with a fight, a beer, or a night of bumming around, but this time I knew I was fighting a losing battle. Some of the Shepard gang was having a bonfire down at the river and I joined for a little bit, sitting on the outskirts of the party and staring bitterly into the flame. These hoods were all having a good time while I was trying not to take out my switchblade and gut somebody for the hell of it.

"What's got you all in a twist?" Tim drawled.

I stalked off then, leaving the oldest Shepard in total surprise. All morning I broke windows and slashed tires in the soc part of town, figuring that everybody could have just a shitty a day as I was going to have. Patrick is probably going nuts in his cell right now and I wouldn't be surprised to hear that he'd ended up in solitary again. When our mother died, the two of us had wreaked havoc on the neighborhood for almost a week before our gang could get us calmed down. I guess you could say we're a couple of bitter sons-of-a-bitches.

"Where have you been?" Two-Bit asked worriedly when I walked into the house at just after eleven in the morning, "I heard you leave last night but I didn't think you'd been gone all this time."

Two-Bit knew that this was tearing me up inside. So did the rest of the guys and that would be why their sitting in the living room looking at me with sad eyes and small smiles. I laughed strangely and collapsed on the couch next to Emily who eyed me frighteningly. She asked if I'd taken anything and I yelled at her for the first time since I'd been in Tulsa.

"That's an insult," I snarled, "You never drink or get stoned on days like this."

I couldn't bring myself to say it and it bothered me. I'm Orion Flighter, renowned gang leader, yet I can't even admit what today is out loud. Darry placed an arm on my shoulder in attempt to comfort my quaking form. I'd been close to taking my anger out on Emily, but instead sunk into the form of the old couch cushions and did my best to forget. The memories had been flowing all day and I'd done my best to shut them out. The guilt came too. If I had been home more maybe she wouldn't have gotten sick. If I had kept my father the hell away from her she would still be here today. Frustrated and angry, I kicked the coffee table and watched in dull satisfaction as the contents of the table skewed off. The gang understood my need to be alone and gave me my space without leaving me entirely to my own devices.

'**Man I've never felt so empty before.'**

Fidgety and awkward, I sought solitude and headed for the back porch and plopped down hardly on the cool steps. Somehow, I drifted off in the hour that I was sitting there. I was lost in my thoughts as my last memory of my mother flashed by.

"_Orion, get in the car!" Patrick screamed._

_I was fifteen again and my brother was shoving and pushing me into the passenger seat of the car. He took off into the direction of the hospital and my body turned to ice in realization. Fear gripped my very soul as I lit up a cigarette in an attempt to calm my badly shaking hands. Patrick was pale, exhausted, and unshaven. It had been his night to stay with her. We'd been rotating these past two weeks, never leaving my mother alone for we knew that the time would be soon. We spotted my father in the hospital parking lot, sitting in his old truck with tears streaming down his face. That was the only time I saw my father show any emotion other than anger. He was terrified to know that the only thing he may have ever loved, even if it had been long ago, was going to die. That was the only time I ever felt pity for my father and I opened the car door for him and ushered him out, placing my hand on the small of his back; I'd had to push him all the way into the hospital. Somehow, everybody had felt in the air that all was not right. Our gang was in the waiting room with solemn expressions, waiting to comfort their leaders and friends when we walked out of my mother's hospital room. Even the rat who had sold my brother out was there, looking at us with sympathy. Two weeks later, he would betray Patrick to the cops and pin him to the liquor store incident and send my brother to prison. The three of us walked into her room and we felt like a family for the first time in a long time. My father was in the middle with his hands on our shoulders and talking to us in a smooth voice that I'd never heard. She was white as a ghost and looked at us with pained eyes. Still, she found a way to smile._

"_My family," She said softly, "Thomas. Patrick. Orion."_

_My breathing became heavier and heavier as she spoke to each one of us in turn. She told my father that he was no longer the person she knew but that she stayed with him hoping that he'd return. To Patrick, my mother said that he had grown into a man that my father should envy and I don't think he had ever been prouder in his entire life. Then, my mother turned to me and said that I was stronger than she could have ever hoped to be and that the kindness and loyalty I showed to my friends was unmatched by anybody. It became too much for her to speak and she didn't last much longer after that. No matter how much warning anyone ever gives to you, it will never be enough when it truly happens. The sky didn't open up and the angels didn't sing when my mother drifted away. My father punched me swiftly in the head as he walked out and wreaked havoc on anyone who stood in his path. Patrick sat in an eerie calm and held her hands tightly in what appeared to be a way to transfer some of his life into her. All I did was collapse on the floor and breathe heavily, begging for this to be a nightmare. To my horror, I found tears streaming down my face and I buried my face in my hands. I hadn't cried in years and it killed me that I was now. My brother noticed the tears on my cheeks and wrapped his arms protectively around me. _

"_We'll get through this," He promised._

I shuddered out of my dream-like state and blinked away my mother's last day furiously. Dusk had set and I realized that I'd been sitting on the porch for quite a long time. The lights in the Matthews house gave away that the gang was still inside. Not wanting any company right now, I started off into the darkening night with no real purpose or sense about me. Each person who walked by me I wanted to punch square in the face. A few kids from school waved in greeting and I bluntly ignored them. My feet stationed themselves in front of a bar and I urged myself to go in.

'**Have a few drinks and get this weight off your shoulder.'**

I was thinking crazy. This was stupid and I shouldn't do it. It was against all the rules, but the prickling on the back of my neck gave me an anticipation of how a few shots could get me out of this funk. I turned and sprinted away, knowing I needed to get away from that bar. My legs carried me as fast as they could and I raced to the lot with assuring speed. Looking behind me for a split second, I collided with a solid figure ahead and went down hard. I came up swinging; ready to kill whoever had knocked me over, but their strong arms caught me steadily. The world had grayed in expectation of a fight but the colors came back softly when I realized it was Dallas.

"It's just me," He said quietly, "It's alright."

I bit my lip out of habit and saw the worried look in Dallas' brilliant blue eyes. He said that I was scaring the guys and that half of the soc population was out for my blood because I'd smashed their cars up real good. Tomorrow I'd have to fend them all off with some bullshit story and a couple of fights.

"Don't worry about any of those assholes, though. I'll make sure they don't come after you."

With his reputation, I would be safe from whoever I'd done wrong. Mainly because if any of them threatened me Dally would kill them. Dal awkwardly told me to stop running off by myself because everybody was out looking for me so I didn't get jailed or something.

"Were you worried?" I asked nervously, as we began to head back to Two-Bit's.

Dal shook his head and quickened his pace. He got a few steps ahead of me before he turned around with a figure in his eyes.

"Of course I was. How could you possibly say that to me? Until you're with me again, I'm not gunna rest easy, ya dig? I can't say it any other way, Orion."

Nobody was home when we arrived at the Matthews house and Dallas marched up the steps and slammed the door behind him. A few minutes later, I followed and found him sulking on the couch. I'd missed Dallas all this time and today made it even more apparent. Sitting next to him, I rested my hand gently on his knee. Without hesitation, Dallas' arms wrapped around my body and pulled me to him tightly. My head was buried in the crook of Dally's neck and I held him back. It didn't solve everything, but it was a first step.

'**Mom, I think I've found something special here.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**This chapter was hard for me to get just right, but I think I displayed how Orion would deal with her mother's death anniversary accurately. Please review since this chapter was hard for me to get out.**


	44. Chapter 44

**Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter, I'm glad you all gave this story a chance and fell in love with it. We're reaching 200 reviews and I couldn't be happier. Thanks again!! Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 44:**

I felt warm when I awoke the next morning. Dallas had stayed with me the entire night, his arms wrapped tightly around me as if protecting me from the bad memories. Vaguely, I remembered the rest of the gang coming in late last night after their search and they seemed relieved that I was safe inside the Matthews' house. Each boy had given me a kiss on the forehead as they'd stepped out in search of their warm beds. Yesterday had left them as exhausted as it had left me and I was appreciative of their actions. I still wasn't feeling totally like myself, but I'd handled the situation my way, just like I handled everything else. The phone rang and I shrugged out of Dally's grip to go answer it.

"Where have ya been?" Frankie's voice echoed over the line, "We called all day yesterday."

My friends in Stillwater remembered even though I wasn't there to remind them to. Their allegiance and kindness won't soon be forgotten by me. They're family, just like the gang here in Tulsa. As my mother always used to say, my loyalty is my best quality. My father says it's my only vice. Go figure. Slipping my boots on, I headed out into the morning sunshine, alternating between hits on a cigarette and bites of the apple I'd grabbed off the kitchen table. Dal soon joined me and neither of us said a word for a good ten minutes. Instead, we kept shooting small smiles at each other, wondering what was to come of us. Finally giving in, Dallas situated himself next to me and broke the silence.

"I'm riding in the rodeo tonight over at the Slash J. I want you to come."

And there it was. Dallas took off down the road, lighting up a smoke on his beloved St. Christopher medallion and swinging his jacket over his shoulder like he was born to do it. He played the part well and I was attracted. He'd laid it on the line without overdoing it with all the clichés and other bullshit that neither of us can stand. Showing at the rodeo meant that last night wasn't just me being vulnerable. If I didn't go, Dal was done chasing me. Other people might not have gotten that message out of the small phrase, but I knew what it meant loud and clear. Tossing my apple core into the street and laughing when a dog nosed at it to see if it was edible, I headed into the house to take a shower. My muscles relaxed under the hot water and I felt more like myself than I had in days. There wasn't that feeling of choking and drowning that I'd been experiencing, but instead a sense of accomplishment. My mother is gone but I'm still pushing onward. These last few days I've been doubting how strong I am but now I feel vindicated and content with where I'm at right now.

"You gunna be long, Orion? Some of us are hopin' for a hot shower too ya know!" Two-Bit shouted from outside the bathroom door.

I laughed and told him to cool his jets. Within an hour, Two-Bit and I were over at the DX with Pony and Johnny happily gulping down cokes courtesy of Steve and Soda. Everyone was pleasantly avoiding any talk of yesterday and I pretended like I didn't notice. The boys are all excited for tonight's rodeo; I guess the town makes a big production out of the start of rodeo season every spring and throws a big carnival and everything. I'm pretty excited too, seeing as I've never been to a carnival.

"Oh man, you've been missing out," Ponyboy told me happily, "There's cottony candy, a Ferris Wheel, a bunch of shooting and throwing games, the works."

"Plus all the booze you can drink and those carnies ain't gunna be cardin' nobody," Steve added in as he teased Pony about keeping himself in check.

The two pushed each other playfully and I gazed in amazement at the youngest Curtis' new found strength. He and Johnny have both matured a bit since I've been here and have started looking harder. They're still lean, hell we all are, but they ain't two kids that you'd wanna mess with. That thought comforts Darry and that's for sure. Soda mentioned that all the girls get real dolled up around here for this and I smirked, asking Soda if he thought I didn't look good enough to attend.

"Shoot, you know you do, darlin'. I was just letting you know that they do it up here like it's a dance or something."

It's the first time I ever saw Sodapop blush and he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, thinking he'd offended me. After assuring him that I understood what he'd been trying to say, Two-Bit and I headed over to the pool hall to scrounge up some money for tonight.

"Soda's right, though," Two-Bit stated as he racked up as we waited for some competition, "The two of us bums ain't gonna cut it tonight. None of these country girls will give me a second look if I don't got my hair greased and a decent shirt on. And if you're trying to impress Dallas, than my old t-shirt probably won't hack it either."

My friend raised his eyebrow in his trademark look and we fell about the pool table laughing. We'd spend the time getting ready if it meant we could get ripped after. After yesterday, I'm really looking forward to the carnival and I could make amends for being snappy with Emily last night by offering to help her with hair and make up. Since the rodeo is a distance away, none of the guys are taking dates and are looking forward to a fun night without being tied down. Fifteen bucks meant that Two-Bit and I could have a grand time tonight and he's assured me that I'm going to ride every ride until I vomit.

"Ride first and drink after," He said, "I learned that the hard way a few years back."

It was just after five when the gang started to pile into the Matthews house. Dally had headed over to the Slash J earlier with Buck to prepare for the race. His slot was scheduled for just after seven when dusk would be setting in. Fancy lights had been installed over the past two years and according to Johnny it was something to see. Sodapop hadn't been kidding about this being like a dance. I caught a glimpse of them as I shut the bathroom door to finish getting ready and all the guys were wearing nice button-up shirts, their cleanest pair of jeans, and had their hair greased to perfection. Emily ran out the door wearing a cute, matching yellow outfit, much to Two-Bit's dismay. He'd tried to grab her, but the littlest Matthew had been expecting it and bolted into the car of one of her friends. I'd done her hair in little ringlets and I figured that she'd have a lot of boys asking her to dance tonight. After putting the finishing touches on my makeup, I stepped out of the bathroom and saw the boys' jaws drop.

"Well, golly, I've been hanging with the finest lookin' girl in Oklahoma this whole time and never even asked her out before," Two-Bit stuttered.

"Jesus, it's not that different," I gushed.

Actually, I knew I looked different than I usually did. My hair fell far down my back in little waves and I was wearing my tightest jeans with a red-and-white checkered shirt tied up around my waist revealing some of my tanned stomach. My nails were freshly painted and Emily had let me borrow a pair of her cleaner cowboy boots. Awkwardly, I fixed my bangs and asked if I looked alright.

"Let's just say we'll all be fightin' over who gets to show up on your arm tonight," Steve assured me with a wink.

The boys piled into the back of the pickup truck while Darry let me sit up in the cab with him to keep my hair from falling out of place. Darry offered to drive since he knew that a majority of us would be getting soused tonight and he didn't want any of us getting pulled over by the fuzz. My mind was a blur as we ascended into the lights, sights, and smells of the rodeo set before us. There were people and horses everywhere you turned. Some were attracted to the thrills of the carnival while others were looking at the rings the rodeo had to offer. There were bucking broncos and barrel races going on.

Ponyboy nudged me out of my stupor and looped his arm with mine in order to keep from losing me in the hustle and bustle of the crowd. I split a cotton candy with Johnny, who laughed at my initial reaction to the snack. Stillwater sure didn't have anything like this place and I would be sure to bring my gang down here next year. We knew most of the greasers in attendance and I chatted with the ones that I recognized and nodded to the ones who acknowledged me. The soc poll was low, much to everybody's relief, and Zac Roberts was wisecracking that they'd never stoop so low as to attend a carnival.

"Ain't that the damned truth, though," Two-Bit murmured with a shake of his head as he lit up two cigarettes and passed me one.

For a while, we all just walked around and played some of the games. We were saving our money for later tonight when the carnival would reach its peak. Soda checked the time at a Hot Dog Stand and decided that it was about time to head over to watch Dally's race. You could see how much Soda wanted to be out there riding on a bronco as we passed the ring and Darry placed a hand on his shoulder and guided him by quick. I grabbed an armful of beers at a stand a held them out to whoever wanted them. At a nickel apiece, I figured this carnival was a jackpot for a good time. Two-Bit again warned us all not to get wasted before we rode the Screamin' Tumbler and it caused us all to only sip occasionally at our brews. The races were a pretty interesting spectacle. The jockeys were either local greasers or cowboys from various Southern states. Some of them played dirtier than a pack of dogs going after a steak but the guys all swore that Dal was honest and played fair; not that I cared much if he didn't. Being from Oklahoma, it's a sin that I've never been on the back of a horse and for the past twenty minutes I've been getting goaded by anyone sitting near me in the stands.

"You mean to tell me that if I stuck you on the back of that plug ol' Daisy over there that you'd manage to get yerrself thrown off?" An aged farmer asked me with a gasping laugh.

The farmer was missing teeth and had skin of what looked the texture of leather so I let him antagonize me, seeing as it's probably the only bragging he'll ever get to do. The gang and I had a good old time with the rednecks. When Dallas rode out on a black horse, we had a little cheering section for him and we could all make out him swearing from down below in amusement. I made eye contact with him and smiled as I waved. He returned it and I think I saw Dally breathe a sigh of relief. It hadn't been a hard decision for me to come here. Last night had helped make up my mind about any confusion I'd had with Dal. Nothing is official, but I'm showing I'm finally ready to come around.

"Winston, you better not blow this. I got some money on you," A drunken Tim yelled out of the stands.

Dal did well in his three races, taking one first and two thirds. He seemed pleased with the small cash prize he received and walked over to the greasers who had been rooting for him, accepting a beer paid for by Chet Stevens. After shaking hands and getting patted on the back by those who took pride in the fact that one of their own had beaten the rodeo regulars, Dallas came over to the gang and bought us all a round of beers. This was his element and I could tell how much Dallas liked being recognized for something good. Jittery with excitement, Two-Bit took off into the entertainment of the carnival and the rest of us followed suit. Something hitched around my belt loop and pulled me back and I turned around ready to belt whoever was messing with me.

"Christ, I thought you were some drunken hick," I stated.

Dallas grinned as he looked me over none too subtly. I hit his arm lightheartedly and he looked into my eyes with a mischievous smirk.

"You shouldn't have dressed like this if you didn't want me to stare," He said.

I looked down at the ground, a little bit flustered that Dal had been so up front about my outfit. When I went to cover myself slightly, Dallas shook his head and pulled my hands away from my midriff.

"You look great. Don't cover up."

Nodding, I began to walk towards our friends and grabbed Dallas' wrist to pull him along with me. At first, Dal linked his fingers with mine and we enjoyed everything the carnival had to offer. During the night, our hands were forgotten and Dally kept an arm around my shoulder and mine fell around his waist, letting any of the greasers who had hit on us previously that we were not up for grabs. Feeling tipsy and looking forward to a party at Buck's after a long night at the carnival, the lot of us piled into the truck. I felt myself being pulled into Dal's lap to make room for some of the Shepard gang. With the wind racing through our hair and the exhilaration of the carnival and the booze making us all silly, I was having more fun than I'd had in a long time without feeling the guilt that had been boring down on me these past few weeks. Brushing the hair lightly out of Dally's face, I kissed him on the cheek and we both threw our heads back and laughed happily.

'**Things don't always gotta be so rough.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Well there ya go with a REALLY long chapter ha. I didn't want to cut this off at the wrong moment and I hoped you all enjoyed the gang's trip to the carnival. This chapter symbolizes that while Orion misses her mother she still needs to have fun and be the 16 year old that she is. Let me know how you liked it with reviews!!!!!!!!**


	45. Chapter 45

**Thanks for the reviews (we finally reached 200!) on the last few chapters and thank you to all the new readers who have been adding me as favorite author, story, etc. It means a lot that we have new readers joining our old faithful readers who have been there since the beginning. Sorry, that it's been a while to update, but I wasn't sure where I wanted to take the story and the summer weather has been making sure that swimming in the pool and having fun is overtaking sitting inside and writing. Anyways, after the wait here we go with….**

**CHAPTER 45:**

It took a few days for the Socs to track me down, which seemed funny because I hadn't been hiding. I was walking towards the Dingo with Two-Bit, Dallas, and Tim Shepard before another drunken night at Buck's when the red corvette pulled up beside us. Immediately, I recognized the car and the enormous dent I'd kicked into it not so long ago. Laughter rang out amongst the four of us as I explained why the car had pulled into our territory. The smell of liquor and English Leather filled my lungs and I did as Patrick always told me; quickly, my eyes counted the number of attackers then scanned their hands and pockets for weapons. An edgy smile crept upon my face and my eyes danced across the scene as the world faded into grays and blacks. My switchblade sat comfortably in my back pocket, calling to me if I needed it. We were outnumbered by one, but the odds were in our favor. They hadn't expected me to be in such good company and I smirked at their surprise to see two of Tulsa's most fearful hoods standing on either side of me. Two-Bit was just as forbidding, tipping up his collar and downing his beer easily before throwing it off to the side, purposefully hitting the tuff car and setting me into another fit of laughter.

"Problem, Kenneth?" I asked, not a shake in my voice.

From what I could see, the five socialites carried no weapons, except for the class ring a couple of them wore on their clean hands, attached to wine colored sweaters and expensive watches. With our blades, which all of us usually carried, the rings wouldn't get much justice to our bare skin.

"I think the problem speaks for itself, Orion," Kenneth responded easily, stepping aside and letting the car do all the talking.

Laughing dryly, I told Kenneth he shouldn't be leaving such a precious vehicle out in the open. Dallas was tense and looked about ready to kill all five of them without even discussing the situation, but I caught his eye and shook my head ever so slightly. Two-Bit and I enjoy toying with our opponents and I wasn't going to let Dallas ruin that. Tim was standing calmly on my left, an amused expression playing across his marred face.

"Trash like you wouldn't understand how much this dent is going to cost me," Kenneth stated.

"You, or your parents?" Two-Bit added, "Because we all know your privileged ass ain't payin' for shit."

"Least we got parents to pay for something."

That was enough to start things off. The four of us charged without thought or plan. Call us trash, call us poor, but when you mention the absence of our parents most greasers are bound to show you that we don't need parents to pay for shit. The brawl ended in our favor, as Kenneth had unknowingly added fury to our blows by mentioning our relatives. Still, the socs weren't in experienced and Kenneth had made sure to bring some of the best with him. As the car sped off, Tim was grumbling about a healing rib being cracked good again, Dallas was rubbing at his temple where a kick had caught him, and Two-Bit was bleeding freely from his hand.

"That ain't gunna be the last of them," I replied ominously as I dabbed at the nape of my neck with my jacket.

I'd been thrown against the corvette during the scuffle and my neck had slammed against the mirror. The cut was wide but shallow and the amount of blood that was coming out was doing it more justice than it deserved. Two-Bit was inspecting it and mentioned stitches but I told him once the cut stopped bleeding he'd see that it was alright. He nodded his head in agreement after a few minutes and smiled roughly at me.

"If this is how the next couple of days are gunna be, you're gunna have to lone it," He joked.

A twang of guilt hit me then and I did my best to shrug it off as we continued our walk to the Dingo. Tim was doing his best not to limp, but I finally ducked into a drug store and lifted a roll of tape and a bottle of aspirin to ease his pain a bit. Broken ribs aren't anything to joke about and it sure as hell wasn't worth playing tough bout. I lifted up his shirt and was met with purpling bruises.

"What the…" Dallas started.

"Jackson Burrows didn't appreciate me fucking his girl," Tim said with a hollow laugh as he dry-swallowed a handful of pills.

With a disapproving shake of my head, I taped the wound quickly, pulling in the jutted rib tight against Tim's taught stomach. The four of us entered the Dingo five minutes later, ordered up, and bragged about our skirmish to surrounding tables as we waited for our drink order. I drank thirstily when my coke was set before me and then held the cold bottle to my neck.

"You were right," Two-Bit concluded, "It ain't that deep."

Nodding, I told him it stung something awful and that was in no doubt because of the dirt and grime that lay inside of the cut and that would turn it all kinds of funky colors over the next few days. Buck's was calling our name at around eleven o'clock after a few hours of cruising the Ribbon and meeting up with Steve and Soda. Shepard left with some of his boys to take care of something with the hippies at Jet's drive-thru and we'll probably be seeing him later at Buck's.

"Ya think he's selling?" Soda asked Dally and I innocently.

The two of us laughed and ignored the question, but the answer went without saying. Dallas once told me that Tim had never went in for the hard drugs, but that he made a killing selling them, and things that resembled them, to the stoned kids on the boulevard. Hippies are an easy target to sell to, since they believe in all that non-violence bullshit. They've begun to trickle onto the Ribbon on Friday and Saturday nights to buy from the Shepard outfit, but hippies tend to stick to neighboring towns since they'd get torn apart by Tulsa's greasers. My brother and I had been involved in that scene briefly when we were rising in rank on the streets. A lot of killing and bloodshed goes along with selling drugs and my brother put a stop to it all real quick. Money isn't worth it when you can't even trust your friends any more. Still, Shepard keeps it small and quiet and I reckon the hippies ain't gunna give him any trouble.

"It's getting pretty dead around here. Let's head on out and get some drinking done," Steve said.

Dallas put an arm around my shoulders and told Steve that we'd meet them there. Surprised, I leaned into his chest and cuddled up to him to escape the wind from the cool night as we began our walk. Ever since the carnival, we've been sharing playful smiles and across-the-room glances. Neither of us knows exactly where to take things yet and it's been pretty frustrating. After the carnival, we'd headed over to Bucks where we got almost no time to spend with each other because Dally was dragged off to talk about his rodeo win and Evie got drunker than a dog and I'd had to help Steve take care of her. I didn't regret not having to hold a girl's hair back in such a long time and I'd gone home with Two-Bit as dawn was springing up, reeking of stale liquor with my shirt covered in Evie's makeup. She'd do the same for me, though, so I wasn't going to hold a grudge.

"You sure y'all don't want a ride? It ain't no small walk," Steve shouted from his truck as he stopped abruptly beside us.

Dal answered for us by waving them on and freeing up the traffic jam Steve had caused. In all honesty, Buck's wasn't too far but Steve didn't understand turning down a free ride. Dally swore under his breath, saying he never got time alone and I hit him with my hip slightly, saying Steve was only looking out.

"Yeah, yeah," Dallas muttered, obviously annoyed.

I laughed at Dal's irritation, since he was frequently commenting on his lack of privacy. I'd mentioned before that he couldn't blame them, since he did live in their houses free of charge.

"You could always walk to Buck's alone," I suggested dismally, tired of hearing his complaints.

Dallas figured my comment didn't deserve an answer and guided me into an empty alleyway where he pushed me lightly against a wall. His hands rested on my shoulders easily and I realized how comfortable I was with him.

"I said I didn't like being with the guys every second of the day. I don't think your name ever came up," Dal told me seductively.

Dally's breath tickled my neck, as his face was close to mine and I looked into his blue eyes and felt my hands reach out for his waist and pull him closer to me. This was the moment we had been waiting for and I was sure that Dal was inches away from kissing me. He flashed me a knowing smile as he leaned in closer and I could have sworn a rush of excitement rose to my cheeks. It had been so long since I'd kissed him. Just as it was about to happen, a blinding light flashed our way.

"Can't you two fucking idiots read? The sign says no trespassing."

It was the voice of someone with authority, undoubtedly a cop and the two of us swore knowing we were going to be taken down to the station for questioning in whatever had gone down that night even if it had been in the next town over. The cop and his partner recognized Dal and it made the situation even worse since they decided that a citation and a police escort weren't going to cut it. Dal and I argued that they had no grounds to arrest us on but our arguments fell on deaf ears as the cop began his speech of, 'You have the right to remain silent…' You may think that cops don't really say that and that it's played up in the movies, but trust me they do.

"I told you never having time alone sucked," Dallas said as the cop cuffed him and dragged him away forcefully.

"You got that right," I called after him as the metal bands bound my hands behind my back.

'**Just fucking great.'**

**Well there you go. A little bit of a cliffhanger there for you haha. I didn't want the kiss to happen just yet, so I had it cut short. Anyways, thanks for being so patient and PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	46. Chapter 46

**It's been a long time since I've updated but I've been really busy. I'll try to update more frequently from not on. Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter as well as everybody adding me to their alerts. It means a lot. Here we go with …**

**CHAPTER 46:**

Darry was the person I called when I demanded that I get to use the phone. He was the most responsible and I knew he'd relay the message to the rest of the boys. Two hours of questioning had left me exhausted and I knew Dallas was in one of his dangerous moods and could give a shit if the gang sat up all night worrying. Our conversation was quick; I explained that we'd gotten hauled in and we'd be out tomorrow. Because of Dal's record, we'd been prodded by the pigs about everything going on the east side and I'd kept my mouth shut good, as was expected. By the time Dal and I were placed in adjacent holding cells, it was going on three AM and I was tired as hell. Glad that I'd probably be loneing it in the cell since no other girls had been brought in, I placed my jacket on the camp bed, which was without a mattress, and settled myself down for a long night. Sleep never fully came; I more or less dozed and listened to the cops tell dirty jokes and talk about how their wives are ragging them about working such long shifts. I wondered about the party at Buck's and if we'd missed a good one and contemplated how ape shit my father would have gone if he would have had to come down here to bail me out again.

"You're out, kid," One of the guards told me with a kick in my boots the next day.

I jolted up out of my light slumber and wondered how in the hell I hadn't heard the door open. Dallas was standing in the doorway with a grim look on his face; a black eye and fat lip meant that he'd had company last night.

"Someone tried to fight your boyfriend here for his bed," The guard explained, "Winston showed him."

I shrugged indifferently at the cop and stepped through the gates, throwing my hair into a ponytail and putting my jacket on as we descended the stairs into the cool morning air. Sodapop was sitting in the pickup waiting for us and I was glad for the ride. Walking a mile after being cramped up on that small cot had not been something I had been looking forward to.

"Y'all look a little worse for wear," Soda stated as we piled into the car, "You wanna head over to Two-Bit's to shower up and get some rest?"

The two of us agreed immediately, happy that a hot shower and a comfortable bed were only a few minutes away. We hopped out before the truck even came to a stop, and I shouted a thanks for Dallas and I as we ascended the steps into the house. With a honk, Soda was off and told us to stop by later.

"You can shower first," I mumbled.

Dally flashed me a small smile before heading into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. The water began running a few minutes later and I lit a cigarette to keep awake. I turned the television on out of habit and watched the morning cartoons in dull interest. Emily woke up shortly after our arrival, muttered a tired good morning, and headed into the kitchen for a bowl of cereal. My eyes began to droop after a few minutes and I jerked up when the cherry of my cigarette burned my knuckle.

"It's all yours," Dal said as he exited the bathroom clad in only a towel.

He'd seen me falling asleep in my seat and threw a towel on my lap to convince me to get up and get clean. After a night in that filthy jail, I didn't need telling twice. The water felt amazing on my skin and I lathered my hair with the peach-smelling shampoo that Sarah always buys. Two-Bit knocked loudly on the door before inviting himself in to use the bathroom. He's never been one to invest in privacy and a couple of times I think Dal wanted to strangle him when he toed the line. It didn't bother me much if he wanted to come in while I was in the shower; it was HIS house, after all. Always forgetful, Two-Bit flushed the toilet and I felt the water turn to ice and started swearing at my friend.

"Lordy! I'm sorry Orion. I forgot," Two-Bit stammered as he left the room in a hurry.

Once the water returned to normal temperature, I quickly washed myself and wrapped a towel around my lean frame. Pony and Johnny were sitting in the living room with Dally and their cheeks tinged pink at my current attire. Dal smirked at their shyness before winking at me. I greeted them before walking into my bedroom and rifling through the dresser for a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. Yawning loudly, I exited once I dressed and Emily brushed my hair for me and then braided it to keep it out of my face. Ponyboy mentioned that the gang was going to the nightly double tonight and I said I'd go once I caught a few hours of shuteye. Dallas mumbled an agreement through the mouthful of banana he'd been eating and ushered me into the bedroom, playfully tackling me onto my bed and landing on top of me.

"What was that for?" I gasped as the wind came back into me.

Dal shrugged as he rolled off of me and wrapped his arms around my figure. He murmured that he was sorry his rep got us into so much trouble last night and I grabbed his hand to let him know it was okay.

"Shit, I've never missed anything more than this," Dallas stated.

Tiredly, I turned to face Dal and buried my head into his chest, hearing his heart beating at its usual steady pace. I've said it a million times before and it's taken me all this time since the New York incident to finally realize it again: Dallas Winston is the most solid person I know and I've never felt better about anybody in my entire life. Scared that we might never be what we used to, I shuffled closer to him and grabbed on with all my might.

"I'm here," Dal whispered urgently.

My mind was rushing with memories of the two of us. We'd had our share of fights and for a while there I thought the only contact we'd ever have again would be me punching him in the jaw, but somehow we'd ended up here. Even the gang had seen it when I couldn't. 'It keeps the two of you from going over the edge,' Darry once said. Dallas asked what I was thinking about as he lifted the sleeve of my shirt and kissed my shoulder gently.

"We're really makin' it huh?" I asked.

I could feel Dal grin against my shoulder after I'd asked and he nodded quickly in response. I'd taken the long way around to discover that Dallas was never going to be perfect. He was always going to drive me crazy and be one of the most feared hoods in Tulsa. And I'll always pretend to hate it more than I really do. My eyes shut themselves out of exhaustion while I was in the midst of my thoughts and I drifted into a dreamless sleep.

"Wake up," Two-Bit yelled as he threw a beer at my sleeping form.

Dal looked like he was about to commit murder and I watched in amusement. The clock read 7:30 PM and we'd been awoken with just enough time to grab something to eat and get dressed before heading over to the movies. Dinner was a small affair of chicken and potatoes from the market. Sarah was working double shifts this week to cover for her coworker and skipped out on dinner to catch a couple hours of sleep. Two-Bit looked guilty for a second. He should probably get a job to put some money on the table but I think his Ma truly would die of shock.

"Let's get on out of here," Steve said impatiently after me and Two-Bit had finished doing the dishes.

"Janice is gunna be there," Soda told me eagerly.

I drank myself into a frenzy that night to ensure that I could take Janice and her bunch of knuckleheaded friends. Earlier that week I'd heard Janice had quite a bit to say at me at the DX, not knowing that Steve would overhear her. Evie was coming with us and I knew she'd step in if I got into a tight spot. My mind became a blur as I got more and more pumped up. Janice was bigger than me by a few inches and had more weight on her bones. She's a middle classer, meaning she's not someone I'd normally jump, but her biting remarks were going to get her a biting punch straight in her face whenever I saw her.

"Relax babe," Dal told me gently as we climbed under the fence.

My eyes didn't have much interest in the movie that night. Dally sat next to me, rubbing my back gently and smiling as the greasey girls looked at us confusedly; we weren't supposed to be together again but here we were. Of course, I didn't have to actually look for Janice because, as we all know, trouble has a natural way of finding me.

"Flighter, I hear you're trying to kill me."

**And so it begins.**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**So Dally and Orion make it out of the slammer without too much trouble. I'm waiting for just the right moment to make the two of them get officially back together but I enjoyed writing the time they spent together talking things over in this chapter. Review and let me know what you think!**


	47. Chapter 47

**Sorry it's been so long since an update, but I think this chapter is a great one. Please read and review!**

**CHAPTER 47:**

I'd gone a little heavy on the bourbon tonight so my eyes were pretty glossy-looking when I faced Janice in the lights of the outside theater. The guys were all there, surrounding us like jackals or something. Other greasers joined in and I could vaguely make out some of the Shepard boys cheering me on along with my gang. Janice wasn't alone; she had three friends with her. They were dressed for a fight too because I don't think I'd ever seen them in jeans before tonight.

"You got a pretty big mouth," I said callously, "I'm considering shuttin' it for you."

Janice had to be afraid, this wasn't her normal scene, but she stood strong. I pulled the sleeves of my t-shirt up harshly while giving her a mean grin. I cussed her out for a while, hearing jolts of laughter through the crowd when my remarks became particularly cruel. The liquor was playing a card in my movements and I knew I was going to have to go crazy to come out of this one looking good. Evie and Angela Shepard stood behind me, ready to jump in should the need arise. The cigarette that'd been dangling from my lips fell clumsily to the ground after a few seconds signaling that I was ready. It was me who delivered the first punch and it was a rough one. Greaser girls don't normally scream like the way Janice did when my fist connected with her face and I was taken aback for a second. For good measure, I grabbed one of her friends and shoved her down hard, making sure to rip her cardigan in the process.

"You're gunna pay for that, greaser," Janice screamed as she came at me.

Ponyboy always tells me that girls in the middle class tend to stay away from the drama between the East and West side. He said they rarely, if ever, fight with the likes of us but that they know what they're doing in a scrap. Janice was decent and she dealt me a hard blow to the ribs. Used to the feeling, I kept my balance and stumbled at her while my anger grew inside me. After a few minutes, she knew she was losing and started playing really dirty. The sting of dirt and stones crept into my eyes when Janice flung some of the unpaved ground at my face. Her friends seemed to have lost their guts when they came face to face with me because none of them joined in their friend's downfall. I walked away from the fight after leaving Janice on the ground. I made sure to rough her up pretty nice just to prove my point. There was a big crowd gathered around and I made sure they got their money's worth.

"Next time you decide ya got something to say about me, make sure you don't do it on the East side," I snarled as I rubbed furiously at my eyes to stop the burning.

Evie guided me into the bathroom and helped rinse the rubble out of my face. She remarked that she was glad she didn't have to step in because she was drunk as a dog and I told her we were in that boat together tonight. We emerged to find the gang waiting for us with cokes and popcorn in hand. Funny how the fight was only ten minutes stale and we were ready to watch a movie. I was limping slightly due to the fact that a punch had caught my knee wrong and I leaned on Ponyboy for support; the liquor wasn't doing much to help that either.

"Man, that girl didn't know what she had comin' did she?" Darry joked.

"She sure played dirty though," Soda mentioned with a frown.

"Most people do," I slurred.

Evie got awfully giggly during the movie and since they were sitting directly behind me it was really starting to get on my nerves. Pony and Johnny had already moved to a better location so they didn't have to listen to it while Soda sat next to Steve loyally. My knee was throbbing steadily and I had my head leaning on Dal's shoulder and tried my best to pay attention to the movie. Dally and Two-Bit were passing a coke cup back and forth that was probably a quarter soda and three-quarters of Jack. Two-Bit leaned after a few minutes and offered the drink to me but I pushed it back willingly.

"Drank my fill for now," I stated and the two of them nodded in understanding.

The movie was a bust and even Ponyboy found he couldn't pay attention once it reached halfway through. He and Johnny moved back over so they could talk with us. Soda took a few swigs out of the coke bottle despite Darry being with us. Buzzing and looking for some action, Two-Bit decided that he would be hosting a party since his mom was at work. Me and him stopped and grabbed a few cases of beer and a couple bottles on the way home and were stocking the fridge when the guests began to arrive. It wasn't going to be any big thing, just our gang, some of the Shepards, and some other greasers that we were friendly with. If it were up to Two-Bit, everybody in town would be invited since everyone digs him. Darry's having his occasional beer at the kitchen table and is discussing territory and such with Tim Shepard. We've got the radio on full blast and I'm sipping gingerly at a beer as I talk with some of the girls at the party. My ribs hurt something awful but the alcohol is beginning to numb the pain.

"You and Dallas Winston are back together then?" Jen asks me.

I stared at her, wondering if she was making a play for him or if she just wanted to know; with greaser girls you can never be too sure. Shrugging, I said we were just hanging out and they all raised their eyebrows knowingly. None of them even knew the true story as to why we broke up anyways so I could give a shit what any of them thought. Come to think of it, the only one outside of my gang that knew the score was Tim Shepard and he keeps things like that to himself. Good ole' Tim may be sly as a dog and bite just as hard, but Dal and him have a loyalty to one another. Two-Bit comes over and gives me a drunken hug and starts telling some crazy story to all the girls. Soon we're all howling with laughter and I'm holding onto Two-Bit's arm to stop from falling on the ground.

"And that is why you never take a leak on a cop car when you're as rip roarin' drunk as I was that night," He concluded.

Before I can ever stop laughing, somebody's grabbed my arm hard and is dragging me through the front door. It's Dallas and I look at him questioningly.

"Let's go for a ride," He says.

Dal wasn't drunk, I could tell by his driving, but he had had a few drinks at the party. I was wondering what the hell he was doing and knew that Darry was gunna chew us out tomorrow for driving after drinking. Even Pony and Johnny who don't drink will ride with anybody who's not too bad. I notice that Dally can't sit still to save his life and I grin over at him.

"What's got you so nervous cowboy?" I asked.

He forced a small smile before grabbing my hand in his. Five minutes later, Dally stopped on a lonely street and put the car into park. I'm looking at him like he's gone crazy and trying to break into whatever he's thinking.

"This is a really nice spot you chose here, Dal," I muttered sarcastically.

Dal only smiled and stared out the front windshield for a few moments. It was hard for me to sit there in such quietness and when I finally opened my mouth to speak, Dallas kissed me forcibly. His hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to him. His fingers traced the small of my back and I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him for the first time in weeks. We pulled apart after a few minutes of making out and I pressed my forehead against Dal's and stared at his hard facial features. Two-Bit told me that I'd changed Dallas ever so slightly since I'd come to Tulsa. Just enough that he wasn't as hard as he once was, but I'd still guarantee that he'd kill anybody who mentioned it in his presence.

"Do you love me again?" Dal asked calmly, "You hated me for so long."

There was an edge in his voice, like he did and didn't want to hear my response. It was true that I'd said I'd hated Dal. Since he'd come back from New York, I'd screamed those words at him more times then I would even care to remember. In truth, I hated that he didn't trust me, I hated Coyote, and I hated Brooklyn. When I told Dal this, he looked at the steering wheel with an empty look on his face. My arms wrapped around his neck and I pulled myself onto his lap as I buried my face into his neck. Dal started talking to me in a low voice, mentioning when he'd come back from New York and I'd thrown his ring at him in anger and told him to get lost for good. I stopped him by kissing his neck gently and felt his words get caught in his throat.

"I loved you the whole time," I whispered.

That was enough for him. He wasn't trying to bring me down or make me upset, both of us just wanted it to work this time. His lips were on mine just moments after I'd spoken and I kissed him passionately, showing Dallas that I wanted him back. Dal took off the ring that I'd thrown at him when he'd returned. His actions were not questions, but statements. He lifted my hair up, unfastened the small chain necklace that I always wore, and placed the ring on it before slipping it back onto my neck.

"You're my girl again and I'll be damned if I'm gunna screw it up this time."

'**That makes two of us.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Okay, this is probably one of my favorite chapters to date. Thanks for being patient everybody and thanks for readers new and old for still tuning it. Reviews are always appreciated!**


	48. Chapter 48

**It's been a really long time since I've updated. For one, the lack of review on last chapter made me think that maybe I'd gotten Dal and Orion back together in the wrong way for the viewers, but I enjoyed the chapter and thanks to dreamer for reviewing. I will be updating more from now on, this brief hiatus was just what I needed to get more ideas flowing. Anyways, I hope you are all still enjoying the story and are happy with its return. Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 48:**

The glowing ember of our cigarettes were the only thing that lit up the dark streets of the north side as Dal and I walk contentedly with one another with no real destination or purpose. We'd dropped by the Curtis' for a few minutes to tell the gang that we'd decided to give it another shot and they had been all smiles. The party had dwindled by then, but Tim Shepard greeted us each with a hard clap on the back before dragging Angela away from the crowd of boys she was talking to and calling it a night for the both of them.

"Well it's about fucking time," Two-Bit said in amazement as we found him eating a massive piece of chocolate cake in between guzzles of his beer as we filled him in on the news.

"Yeah, that's not something you just throw away," Sodapop remarked while Dal placed an arm around my shoulders affectionately.

I just smirked and gazed at the ground as I sipped gently at Steve's beer. I'm one of the most stubborn people you'll ever meet and it had taken a lot of convincing for me to give Dallas another chance. Dal nudged me out of my thoughts at the Curtis' as his grip around my shoulders tightened in apprehension. There were sounds coming from up the block and our bodies were rigid and ready to fight as footsteps came closer and closer. A sigh of relief escaped my lips when a drunk stumbled from out of the shadows and passed us without as much as a glance. Neither of us was afraid, but I'd rather not get slit up by some drunk-stoned hood who thinks they got something to prove. We both realized how stupid it was to be walking alone this late at night on our side of town without a blade and picked up our pace as we came up to the first house: Buck's. I rolled my eyes at the annoying blaring of the country music that Buck feels the need to play every night at top notch while Dal nodded at one of the bartenders before we ascended the stairs of the rickety house. A small fight ensued when Dallas kicked two teenagers out of the room that Buck always reserves for him and I watched in amusement as the two little sons-of-a-bitches were met with an enraged Dallas Winston.

"Mouthy little shits," Dal commented before leading me into the bedroom.

I shrugged, "They just don't know their place yet is all."

Dally started to mutter about how all the younger kids are punks while I nodded in agreement. The actions of young greasers like the two we had just dealt with always circulated back to us. If tomorrow Dal saw those two got cocky with the socs he'd be the first to jump in and save their sorry asses. It's greaser law that you stick up for your own. Exhaustedly, I pulled off my jean jacket and crashed onto the worn out mattress. The noise downstairs didn't bother me much, I'd slept in louder, and I was drifting off when I felt Dallas sink in beside me after he'd pulled off his shirt. My head fell easily onto his chest as I wrapped one arm around his waist. Dallas lit up one last cigarette, as he usually does before going to sleep, and rubbed my back softly with his free hand.

"Ponyboy ain't as stupid as those two idiots," Dal commented.

"That's cause he's got us and Darry's done good with him," I replied.

I felt him nod in agreement and briefly heard him mutter something about Pony being a good kid. The two of us slept late the next day, seeing as we hadn't fallen asleep until just before dawn. Buck barged into the room just after noon and shook Dally awake forcefully.

"You kicked out two paying customers last night," Buck shouted wildly, "I'll be lucky if they'll ever come back after you scared the devil into them."

Honestly, nobody looks stupider than Buck Merril when their upset. His lanky figure and missing front teeth make him quite the spectacle and I hid a smile so as not to anger him more. Ol' Buck's a pushover though, especially to Dallas, who always seems to drink and get a room for free.

"Calm down, buddy, will ya?" Dal snarled as he rubbed sleep out of his eyes, "It was them or me and you know that my gang brings you more business in a week than those assholes would in a year."

"Really? Cause I ain't seen you drop a dime here in over a month," Buck remarked bitterly.

"Who wins the races for ya hotshot?" Dal replied heatedly.

Buck shut his mouth good after that, seeing as Dallas does bring in a majority of his revenue. He gave a nod in my direction out of respect before shutting the door loudly behind him. Right now, he's probably downstairs venting about it to any still-drunk greaser who'll listen.

"Idiot," Dal muttered before rising out of bed and getting dressed.

He asked if I was going to lay in bed all day and I laughed as he picked me up easily and kissed me quickly before handing me my jacket. We both decided a Curtis meal sounded good about now and Dal swiped Buck's T-Bird in retaliation for being woken up and revved the engine loudly as we sped out of the parking lot. I'd seen Merril's face in the window and couldn't help but grin at how fuming mad he was. Buck and Dally have a weird relationship; sometimes I really think that Buck hates Dal more than anything.

"He about hit the roof," I stated.

That just made Dallas push his foot harder on the gas petal as we hurtled forward through the buzzing streets of Tulsa's downtown. We waved at people we knew and cussed at the ones we didn't. The Curtis' porch materialized in front of me too quickly and we'd made it to their house in record time. Shaking my head with a smirk playing on my lips, I asked Dally if he was trying to kill me as we walked into the house, hollering if anybody was home.

"Kitchen," Darry spoke loudly and I shared a confused look with Dal.

"Ain't you got work today?" I asked Darry.

The question didn't need to be answered when I saw the state that Soda and Steve were in. They'd obviously gotten jumped bad judging by the welt laying painfully across Steve's face and the bandage covering Soda's neck.

"Brumly decided to pay us a visit last night," Soda remarked bitterly.

It turned out Soda and Steve had given Evie and her friend a lift home after Dally and I had left and they'd gotten into a drag race with some of the Brumly outfit. They'd won, which had caused some bad blood with their opponent's full car. They'd held them off good enough before the fuzz had shown.

"We barely got away too. Those pigs were out for greaser blood last night. Everyone and their mother were getting cuffed. Curly got hauled in for hotwiring Mrs. Jamison's car," Steve stated.

Dal snorted and mentioned that Tim was probably having a field day with his kid-brother.

"You guys are okay, though? Nothing you couldn't handle, right?" I asked worriedly as I sparked up a cigarette.

"My ribs are a nasty shade of purple and Soda's ankle's got a lump the size of a baseball," Steve said as his eyes turned to pure hate as he relived last night.

Darry was glancing at the clock edgily and asked Soda if it was okay if he went to work for a half day. Soda nodded his head vigorously, saying they needed the money. Darry's cheeks tinged pink at the mention of money being tight and I busied myself with cleaning up their lunch so as not to make it noticeable.

"I'll look after 'em Dar," I told him, "You go ahead."

Darry nodded and put a hand on my shoulder in gratitude before grabbing his tool belt and driving away in the old pickup. I left Steve alone for a few minutes because that look on his face meant nothing but trouble. Sure enough, when Evie stopped by a few minutes later and started fawning over him, he blew his top. He yelled loud enough to shake the whole house and Evie left in a whirlwind of thing being thrown swiftly in Steve's direction.

"Way to treat your girl there, Steve-o," Soda joked and Steve cursed him out darkly.

Steve's temper flared all day and even Darry was surprised at his short fuse when he asked if he'd be staying for the dinner.

"The door's right there if yer just gunna be a dick," Dal growled in frustration.

Steve laughed darkly before replying that Dallas was a bigger jerk than the entire gang put together when he was heated. The two each got in a few punches before Soda, Darry, and Johnny managed to pull them apart.

"This is a time where y'all should be looking out for each other, not fighting amongst yourself like a couple of middle school punks. You can both see yourselves out for pulling that in my house," Darry shouted heatedly.

Dallas lit a smoke before exiting to prove that he did things on his own terms while Steve left in a hurry, making sure to slam the door in anger. Things were edgy in the house and I glanced at Two-Bit uneasily. I hated when Dally fought with one of the gang because it put me in a pretty tough spot. Normally, I just let it blow over and don't take sides since any bad blood brews over quickly in this lot. It's not like I was in a rush to go out and spend time with Dal now anyways; he'd be in one of his dangerous moods that only a fight or two could fix. Darry had pulled another muscle at work and Soda was rubbing his back to work out the kinks and I figured that's why Dar had snapped; he's not one to ever make people leave his home, especially with Brumly stirring up trouble. Sensing that this was a time for the Curtis brothers to spend some time alone, Two-Bit, Johnny, and I took off and headed for home.

"Man that was some pretty intense shit," Two-Bit said with a low whistle as we pulled up in front of Johnny's house.

You could hear the yelling from all the way outside and we waited as Johnny walked through the gate. The echoing screams from his mother telling him to get out rang through our ears and Johnny got back into the car, flicking his collar up and acting like nothing had happened.

"Here ya go, Johnnycake," I said as I handed him a cigarette.

The car was full of tension as we parked alongside Two-Bit's house and walked in the front door where Sarah was watching television with Emily. Johnny went straight into Two-Bit's and my room to get away from any pity Sarah and Emily would give him, while Two-Bit and I played a few hands of cards and smoked like fiends. The whole time my mind was stormy, thinking about Brumly and Steve and Dallas.

"Gin," Two-Bit said happily as he laid his cards out.

'**Funny, I'd thought we'd been playing poker,' **I thought as I laid my hand out on the table face down. I asked Two-Bit if he thought Steve and Dal would be okay by tomorrow and he shrugged, saying that with those two tempers there was no telling who would cave first. I took a sip of my Pepsi before nodding in agreement.

"I'll tell you one thing though," Two-Bit replied as a rush of rare seriousness washed over his face, "I don't like the thought of those two walkin' alone right now."

We both knew that Steve and Dal are some of the best fighters in Tulsa, but when the odds are 6 to 1 it doesn't matter how good you are.

"Dal ain't got a blade on him," I said, "Steve's got a piece of pipe."

The odds were better for Steve, but I knew Dally had searched out Shepard and the two of them were probably wreaking havoc on anybody who even looked at them wrong. Darry had called twice to see if they'd come to crash at our house, and we could tell he regretted kicking them out. Two-Bit threw an arm around my shoulders as we both headed for the door. We were gunna go look for them. This neighborhood's never been safe and the two of them have had their time to blow off steam.

"This is gunna be interestin'," Two-Bit told me.

'**Ain't that the truth.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Well there ya go. We haven't had a gang blowout yet and I figured now was the time. Reviews please on what you think.**


	49. Chapter 49

**Okay, we last left off where Two-Bit and Orion were going out looking for Steve and Dallas. Thanks for the reviews and new subscriptions. Please review if you're reading the story, it truly does mean so much to me. Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 49:**

My legs were pumping and I was screaming as I advanced upon the street fight that Dallas and Steve were currently involved in. Shepard and Brumly boys littered the dark alleyway and it looked like Dal and Steve had forgotten about their quarrel as they grinned at each other as they fought as one through the pack. Two-Bit tossed me his spare blade and the two of us entered the brawl without hesitation. We both figured this was the type of scene we'd find our friends in and had been prepared for a fight.

"Fancy seeing you here," Tim Shepard cackled as I sliced one of the two Brumly boys he'd been fighting down his arm.

"Where there's trouble, there's always Tim Shepard," I muttered back, "No surprise you're here."

The two of us laughed briefly before we focused more on the fight. Shockingly, I realized I wasn't the only girl and shook my head as I saw Angel shrieking and clawing at a small opponent. Funny, I didn't think Tim let his younger sister get involved in this type of shit.

"Sick of her taking it out on Curly," Tim replied, reading my mind.

'**Plus you can keep an eye on her' **I thought, darkly remembering Angela's spitting anger that she often emitted at the drop of a hat.

My eyes saw only grey as Two-Bit came up on my right side and we took on the Brumly gang. Steve was cursing up a blue streak, and I knew that these hoods would think twice about ever jumping Steve Randle again. The two of us conversed occasionally throughout the fight, with Two-Bit telling me that the Shepard outfit must have done something pretty fucked up if Fallon was setting his boys loose in our territory again. The Curtis gang was always a target for Brumly when they were quarreling with Tim; there were fewer of us and we didn't play so rough. But we fought just as hard when backed into a corner and Brumly was starting to hurt after a while. The fight came to an abrupt halt when Tim had Fallon thrown against a brick wall with a busted bottle to his neck, begging anyone from Fallon's gang to make him slit his throat. Shepard would do it; he can be a sick bastard when he wants to be. I watched, high off the fight, feeling no emotion in the matter; Fallon was an asshole and seeing as he'd jumped my buddy Steve twice now it didn't matter much to me if Tim wasted him.

"Tim, I ain't trying to see you go to the poke again so you watch what you're doing," came Angel's sheer voice of reason.

Tim slit him lightly, enough to temporarily cripple Fallon. His body crumpled beneath the dark sky as he grabbed his neck lightly and struggled for breath. Shepard bent down and whispered something in Fallon's ear that made the gang leader nod in defeat. Fallon's second in command called the pack of rough boys back and they glared at us, snarling like wild dogs. They weren't organized without their master, though, and knew if any of them took another step towards us their days would be numbered. I understood their desperate attempts to stay in their leader's good wishes. By behaving for a few years, they might up their rank and their rep would live on after they're gone. It's a fact that some of us won't make it out of all of this alive which is why we fight with our passion on our sleeve. Pat always says he hopes my reputation won't be the only thing he's got to remember me by when he gets out.

"I think we're through here," Steve grumbled as he wiped at the gash on his cheek that had split open again.

Tim walked slowly over to us and shook our hands. His eyes were again calm and he was composed as ever. Leave it to Shepard to be cold as ice just minutes after almost killing somebody. He told us that he'd be over to discuss everything with Darry in the morning.

"You ever plannin' on tellin' me what the hell's goin' on with Fallon?" Dal asked and Tim only smirked at him, knowing it would fully piss Dally off if he knew after Darry.

The rest of Tim's outfit followed him loyally, with a few of them clapping us on the back and inviting our gang to a party at the river tomorrow. Angela came over and flirted ruthlessly with Steve while Two-Bit made jokes and I could only grin at the girl's nerve; Curly looked scathingly at Steve before pulling his sister away harshly. I swear, you could hear the two of them cursing from a mile away.

"Quite the family, the Shepards," Two-Bit remarked with a laugh and I rose my eyebrows in agreement.

"Tim keeps them outta trouble best he can but with those two, damn," Dal said with a shake of his head.

"We're all made up then?" Two-Bit said happily, "Back to buddies again, I see."

Steve and Dal didn't comment on their previous argument and ignored Two-Bit's chiding as we walked back to his clunker. The blows had solved it and there wasn't much else to say. The peeled blue paint of Two-Bit's car was the first color I could make out since the fight and I had a vague feeling that one day I might lose color forever. Steve caught me blinking harshly and shook his head in wonder.

"That's amazing, you know," He told me.

I shrugged and finally relaxed when I was able to look into the mirror and see my blonde hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin. Two-Bit kept up a constant chatter, barely letting any of us get a word in edgewise as he tried to decipher what was going on with Shepard versus Brumly.

"Don't matter much," I said while Two-Bit swigged on a beer and shut his trap for a few seconds, "Brumly are always a good fight."

"Amen to that," Steve said as he downed the liquor he'd had in the fancy flask he lifted last week.

The Ribbon was our destination and I started choking down whiskey quickly as Two-Bit and Steve started flirting with anything in a skirt. It was coming on three AM and the strip was dwindling down by the minute. Without much action, Dal and I sat passing the bottle while sitting on the hood of the car and talking to pass the time. We were getting used to each other again and to be honest it wasn't that hard. His hand was rubbing up and down my side lightly while mine rested on his thigh as we talked about going to the beer blast at the river tomorrow.

"Promised I'd take Pony and Johnny to the Nightly Double but you know that usually don't go past midnight," Dal told me.

I nodded, as I thought about how fast Pony had grown up in the past few months. He was tougher now, but he had heart and I hoped that nothing would ever make that go away.

"You wanna go and be my date?" Dally asked with a smirk.

We both started laughing as I pulled him into me by his jacket and kissed him. I wrapped my arms around his neck as we kissed deeply. When we pulled apart after a few minutes, both of us were smiling. The bottle was passed between us a few more times and I felt dizzy when we stood up to go and find Two-Bit and Steve in the small crowd.

"You a little drunk baby?" Dal asked as he kissed me quickly.

I nodded and grinned when Dally linked his hand with mine to keep us together while we searched. His thumb rubbed the back of my hand lightly as our eyes combed the dingy restaurant's parking lot. There were kids smoking grass everywhere, and I lit up two cigarettes in frustration at the fact that we couldn't find Steve or Two-Bit. They were smashed when we found them and I laughed when Two-Bit tossed me into the air before he pulled me into a tight hug. Steve claimed that they'd been looking everywhere for us and Dal and I shared a knowing look that they hadn't even thought about us in the past hour. Two-Bit threw up his keys for one of us to drive and I took them before Dal shook his head and grabbed them out of my hand.

"I think it'd be best if I drove," He told me and I couldn't argue.

Steve got dropped off at the Curtis' since him and Soda worked early and the three of us headed back to the Matthews' place. Two-Bit opted for the couch, since it was the closest thing to the door, and he passed out quickly. I covered him with a blanket and got him a cup of water for his likely hangover the next day before pulling his boots off.

"You know, most guys would get suspicious about their girl being such good friends with their gang," Dal said suddenly from the foot of the doorway and I jumped a mile.

"Lordy, don't sneak up on me like that," I replied.

It got me to thinking, though. In the beginning, Dallas couldn't handle the guys hugging and touching me, but it was something he'd gotten over quickly. He'd rather know that I was considered a friend and not just one of the guy's girls like Evie. They'd stick up for me no matter what and I know that settles Dally's nerves some.

"You know I see the rest of them as brothers," I answered and Dallas nodded in agreement.

"Any other gang though and it wouldn't be the same," Dal said and I knew he was thinking about his friends in New York.

Girls in most gangs get passed around. It's a sad truth, but the truth all the same. The Shepard outfit pass around their girls all the time. Hell, even Curly and Tim have nailed the same broads. Our gang wasn't like that, I wasn't like that. Soda, Two-Bit, and the rest were loyal and respectful of each other's girlfriends. It would seem like Dal would never fit into their gang since he'd had quite the reputation before me, but he was there just the same. Dally could have been a Shepard, Brumly, River King, or a Tiber Street Tiger, but instead he chose the Curtis gang. Or maybe the Curtis' chose him.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing we're here," I concluded drunkenly.

Dallas walked over and ran his hands through my hair as he looked at me.

"Yeah, it's the best thing we're here," He told me as he kissed me passionately.

'**The best.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Alright, there you go. Another chapter and put up more quickly than the last few. Let me know what you think with reviews. Thanks again for the reviews on the last chapter and for the new subscriptions.**


	50. Chapter 50

**Once again, I'm sorry that it's taking me so long to update. Now that it's the holidays I'm sure I'll be getting more chapters out more. This chapter just would not work with me and I wasn't going to put out a filler and now I'm really happy with it. Reviews are always welcome and thanks for the reviews on the previous chapter. We've made it to the big 50 and it's another one of my favorite endings so let me know what you think. Here we go with…. **

**CHAPTER 50:**

The next morning came and went before I woke up from my slumber. It was afternoon before I could pry myself out of bed and the noise coming from the rest of the gang was enough to start my headache off. All of them were in the living room watching football and yelling too loudly. Two-Bit still looked a little soused as he laid lazily on the floor and watched the game in disinterest. They all saw me in Dally's t-shirt and I saw Steve raise his eyes suggestively while Ponyboy blushed slightly. Dal and I aren't sleeping together yet but neither of us is an innocent so I didn't get the big deal. I popped a few aspirin and drank a cold pop before I headed back into the boyfest in the living room. Dallas pulled me onto his lap and I leaned against his bare chest comfortably.

"Frankly, I feel like shit," Two-Bit stated to nobody in particular, "How you feelin' Ri?"

I smirked at my friend before muttering that I wasn't feeling too hot. Sodapop started asking about the fight last night and Steve shrugged and said the Shepard v. Brumly battle was on.

"I think it's a little rougher than that. Angela was shrieking down at the Dingo about how Tim almost wasted Fallon," Johnny stated while those of us that were there shrugged indifferently.

"You know Shepard, Johnnycake. That jerkoff would slit Fallon's throat without even thinking about it. And he'd like it too," Dally told him.

Nobody argued with that fact since we'd all seen the fury of Tim Shepard at one point.

"Tim phoned earlier. He's gunna head over one of these days to have a chat," Darry remarked,

Yawning, I struck a match and lit up a cigarette before inhaling deeply. Dal and I had figured it had something to do with drug territory but we weren't going to bring that to the table yet. Most of the guys were up for football in the lot and they took off at lightning speed to burn off some of their energy. Two-Bit and I lagged behind, not much interested in bringing up whatever we'd drank last night. We talked nonsense throughout the whole game while the rest of them got dog tired after playing for over two hours. Darry was grinning cheekily by the end of the match, since his team had been victorious, and Sodapop was pounding Ponyboy's back happily at his winning touchdown.

"The Curtis brothers take it again," Soda chanted while Dal, Steve, and Johnny looked on at them darkly.

It was dusk by the time we'd started for the Matthews after picking up some dinner at the Dairy Queen that they'd put in a few months back. It was mostly a middle class hangout, but the owners didn't have any problems with us riding through the drive-thru usually. The looks they gave us were generally enough to keep us away but nothing sounded better than a BBQ sandwich and a Pepsi about then so we'd decided to skip out on the Dingo and go there. I about dropped all the bags of burgers I was holding when I saw who was sitting on Two-Bit's porch smoking a cigarette on the steps like he'd been doing it his whole life.

"Frankie, what in the hell are you doin' here?" I asked with a laugh.

"Nice to see you too Orion," Frank said with a fake glare while I embraced him in a hug.

I introduced him to the rest of the gang while Two-Bit and Dallas greeted him again. There was no doubt in my mind that these boys wouldn't accept Frankie; he was one of my closest friends back home after all. Frankie didn't bother to tell me how he'd known where to find me at, and I didn't bother asking. That boy could find me even if I moved to another continent. He took a bite out of my sandwich as we piled around the Matthews' small dining room table and I barely took any notice to it; sharing had never been an issue in Stillwater.

"I'm guessing you didn't come all the way down here to eat Dairy Queen," I mentioned after all the food had been passed out and the rustling of paper had ceased.

"Man, you always were a smart one," Frankie joked before he pulled out a piece of paper.

Now, Frank's expression became solemn. He looked around the table before asking if everyone was cool. After sending Emily upstairs with her food, I let the gang speak for themselves and they all nodded in turn, a look of interest on each one of their faces. A declaration for a war counsel was placed in front of me and I wiped my hands before accepting the document. Five years ago, it had been decided that any rumbles that were going to be held had to be written in paper to prove that everything would be fair. It was Stillwater law that the leader signed and it was up them to make sure no prohibited weapons were brought. You can't trust anyone's word these days but a signature can prove their disloyalty. The page was only one side of the page long and written in a sloppy print. I read through it quickly before looking up at Frank.

"Wheatley's brother signed?" I asked with a sneer, "Interesting."

Frankie shrugged and said that Wheatley was under the weather and Brett was taking over for the time being. I shook my head in disgust. If those boys didn't get off the horse, our alliance would end. Brett seemed like he had his head on straight though and I wished his brother would get his shit together. Quickly, I scrolled my name across the page and looked at Frank questioningly.

"I could have just signed it when I came up for the rumble," I told him, "I'm sure they would have let you co-signed."

"That ain't all," Frankie replied and I muttered that that didn't surprise me.

"Larson's out, Orion," Frank said slowly, "Adam Kingfischer's turning on him and is going to take over. Kingfischer met with Preston and me three nights ago in a backroom at Shoemaker's. Shit, Ri, we thought he was going to jump us for the stunt we pulled with Larson in the warehouse but he shook our hand instead."

Vaguely, I remembered my foreshadowing of Jack Larson's death just a month ago after we'd roughed him up. I'd given him six months and I'd obviously misjudged his outfit's growing hatred for him.

"When?"

"After the rumble. Win or lose."

Anxiously, I lit a cigarette, taking a hit before swearing under my breath. It felt like the rest of the table didn't exist, although I could hazily see their hardened expressions as Frankie explained Kingfischer's plans.

"We're still gunna have it out. Everybody's gunna fight like their lives depends on it, mainly because it does. Knives, chains, the whole nine with the exception of heaters. Losers don't run but stand off while it goes down. Kingfischer's goin' to pull out his pistol and blast him one straight in the temple for practically burying the whole gang because of his stupid pride."

The killing of Jack Larson barely even fazed me. If that prick never lived, Jesse would still be walking the streets, but I had to ask what my participation in this had anything to do with it. If Adam Kingfischer was going to have a heater, I don't think I want to be around. People get careless with guns and I wasn't itching to see if Kingfischer would get "careless" while I, the leader of Stillwater's most prestigious gang, stood in front of him armed with only a blade.

"What the hell do we get out of all of this? There's something you ain't telling me Frankie," I concluded.

"What? Seeing the murderer of your brother's best friend go down by his own gang's hands ain't badass enough for you?" Frank joked darkly, "Of course we get something out of it."

I waited anxiously for his reply as Frankie chose his words very carefully.

"Patrick. You get Patrick back."

All I could do was stare absolutely dumbfounded. When I told Frankie that I already had Patrick, my friend laughed lightly.

"You don't got him free though. You got him once a month in the state penn where he's trapped for the next seven years. Pat blew his chance at parole in two years. Kingfischer can get it back."

My stomach flopped hard in my stomach. Two years instead of five was a huge difference. I couldn't stop my hands from shaking and I nearly dropped my cigarette. Before I could ask for proof, Frank showed me the papers that would reinstate my brother's parole.

"We go with Adam to the courthouse before the rumble and work it all out. Once the judge signs this it's irreversible. Preston looked it over and Kingfischer's telling the truth. All we gotta go is show up for a rumble," Frankie concluded, "It's solid.

"Let's get things straight first," I said wisely, "This ain't a rumble. It's an assassination."

Frankie's eyes glowed in the sunlight that transcended in from the window. His opinion didn't matter and he knew it. This was solely on my shoulders; the only thing he could offer was his guidance.

"I would do anything for Patrick. Absolutely anything. See this through Frankie. I'll be home two nights before the rumble."

Lighting a cigarette and kissing me gently on the cheek goodbye, Frankie picked up the war counsel and sealed it back into its envelope; he couldn't stay since he had a lot of things to see to in Stillwater.

"It's strange to remember that you're only sixteen," Frankie said before he stepped out into the dark night.

"Two years," I remarked shakily once he'd left, "That ain't that long."

Shock was running through my body and I couldn't believe what had just occurred. When Patrick's parole had gotten taken away during a prison rebellion a few months back, I felt like I'd been slapped in the face. If all I had to do was watch Jesse's killer get killed and it would free my brother sooner, then I was going to make sure I had a front row seat. There was a lot of risk going into this plan, but I was willing to take them all.

'**Patrick, your redemption is on its way.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**The darkness of Stillwater has returned. Patrick could be out five years before if everything goes according to plan. I hope this chapter makes up for how long it took me to update. Enjoy and Review.**


	51. Chapter 51

**Sorry once again that it's been a bit to get this chapter out. Writers block has been no fun but I finally have the next three chapters pretty much straight in my mind so they shouldn't take too long to get out. Anyways, this chapter took a while to get just how I wanted it but I'm finally extremely happy with it. Please review if you are reading. Thanks. Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 51:**

I get my best thinking done sitting in the back of a bar. In front of me was a napkin and I was sketching the lineups of those who would be on my side during the Stillwater rumble. On the left I listed the best fighters, which included most of my gang, and on the left I listed the rest. The good outweighed the bad and the decent and I smirked happily. On another napkin, I laid out Larson's crew and Kingfischer's name was at the top. My smirk faded slightly. This whole thing with Adam was making me a bit nervous but I knew it had to be done to get my brother out. I laid my head on my arm and rubbed the coke bottle against my brow to regain my concentration. A cigarette found its way clumsily to my mouth and I struck a match against the table to light it. Picking up the pen again, I started to jot notes down. Before I knew it, I had half-a-dozen filled napkins in front of me detailing the players involved, previous rumbles, fallen leaders, victories, and losses. Man, there had been a lot of losses:

_Spring '61: My first rumble. Two lieutenants and the president dead. Patrick takes over._

_Fall '62: Mannie, Talan, Smith._

_Winter '62: Gretchens, Phillips, Chancey, Becker._

_Summer '62: Allen._

_Fall '63: Truman, Davis, Freedman._

_Spring '63: Lacey, Michaels._

Since the spring of '63 we'd managed to keep deaths down to a minimum, but I couldn't bring myself to continue after that year. I already had enough names of people that I'd known and cared about littering this napkin, their names practically forgotten except to remember that they'd fallen beneath the dim lights of a blood soaked rumble. Apart from Preston, Frankie, and my brother, most of my gang wouldn't remember anybody before Allen. I'd been eleven years old in my first rumble and had been brought up from the little leaguers to replace a kid who'd moved from the neighborhood.

I remember that night clear as anything. I'd been knocked unconscious almost five minutes into it by a 2-by-4 and had woken up in a pool of the president's, James Malcolm's, blood. He'd died trying to save me and I think my brother became president because he felt bad about it. Patrick had just turned fourteen and the older members knew they needed some fresh blood to change things up. I couldn't even stand on my own that night and I'd had to stay at the gang's hangout because my mother would have died of shock at the sight of me. The next day I'd tried to explain why I was covered in blood and had a lump the size of a tennis ball on my head. Ma held up her hand and told me whatever went on in those streets was none of her business.

"What strange lives you two lead," She said thoughtfully before continuing cooking dinner.

They tried to keep me out of the rumbles after that but Pat said I needed to toughen up and kept me battling. At twelve, he made sure I was always in the possession of a switchblade just incase. Stepping back, I should have never been involved in any of that mess, but Patrick got whatever he wanted back then. Not many girls ran with the gangs after the little leaguers, which some girls were apart of to learn to fight, but my brother didn't see things that way. Janice was added on when I was thirteen after Pat had seen her gut a JD for trying to have his way with her in an alleyway. She would have killed that bastard if she'd had to. Slowly but surely, Patrick forced real gangs to go out of style. He dropped his title of president just one year after he'd taken over.

"What the hell are ya doin' in the back of Finn's for all this time?" Two-Bit's voice asked, jerking me out of all my thoughts, "Here we are thinking ya got jumped."

Johnny, Dallas, and Ponyboy were with him and I sipped my coke while Two-Bit looked over my notes in interest.

"Just getting it all straight in my head," I admitted.

"Death list," Two-Bit read aloud, "Sounds cheery."

Snatching the napkins away in earnest, I saw the four of them sit down and wait patiently as I continued to write furiously. Having the edge in any rumble was the most important thing. Any information that I could get my hands on would give us the advantage. Finn brought me over another soda and I slapped a quarter down on the table, figuring a small tip would get him off my back. The barkeep had always liked me since I never asked for a tab and always paid up front. Still, drinking two cokes at a dime a pop over the course of three hours ain't his idea of making good business for the night, but the bar was empty and no plainclothes cops were hassling him so he let me be.

"When are ya headin' back?" Pony asked me.

"Five days," I responded, "Do you think I could borrow your car Two-Bit? Frankie said the bus ain't so safe right now."

My friend nodded vigorously while he traced one of the many carved names in the woodwork.

"You sure look different right now," Two-Bit said oddly, "Older or somethin'. Frank was right when he said he couldn't believe you were just sixteen."

He was right. Most sixteen year olds weren't sitting in a bar working out their gang's next move. But then again, most sixteen year olds don't run away from home and move in with complete strangers. Years later, I'd realize that I wasn't like most other people. Normal is boring anyways so being different don't bother me none. Still, my father used to say I would never reach fourteen, and here I am.

"I'll be seventeen soon," I responded, like on year made it better.

My face did look older this week, but it was something that would change after I came back from Stillwater. Usually, Patrick and I would do this planning together and we'd catch things that the other had missed. Preston had visited him this month in the cooler so I wouldn't get a chance to see him. We'd starting sending letters recently which was something we hadn't done before. We're finally realizing that we don't have each other; not like we used to anyways.

"You think your brother got dinner ready by now?" Dal asked Ponyboy, "I'm starving."

The youngest Curtis contemplated for a second and then glanced at the bar clock. He rose quickly and a slightly panicked expression crossed his face. It was after seven.

"Shit," He swore, "I'm late again. Come on y'all."

We all rose and I delivered my empty bottles to the countertop so Finn wouldn't have to. The barkeep winked playfully at me and I felt Dallas tighten next to me. I'd suspected that Finn had a little crush on me by the way he always let me sit around his place, but I'd never thought much of it. The guy was in his mid-twenties after all.

"You stop by again real soon, doll," He said smoothly.

I buried my face in my hands as Dal snapped. He had every right too, of course, but I wasn't itching to find a new hang out.

"You see that ring around her neck, playboy? That's mine."

Finn muttered something under his breath while he busied himself with cleaning a shot glass. Dally slammed his fists down hard on the bar and started growling swear words. Two-Bit, who was friendly with most bartenders in Tulsa, put a hand on Dal's shoulder and told him not to go looking for any trouble, but Dallas hit his hand roughly away.

"You get off going after taken girls? Especially young ones, huh? You good for nothin' piece of shit. Step outside, I feel like rearranging your goddamn face."

"I'm not steppin' outside of shit," Finn responded coldly, "There's four of y'all. Ain't much of a fight."

Dallas called him chicken and remarked that the guys would just be an audience. Finn had the nerve to ask me if he should fight for my honor and Dal hopped over the bar before any of us could even react. He slammed Finn's face onto the counter with so much force that I could hear the crack as Finn's nose broke. After repeating the action twice, Dallas hopped back over and lit up a cigarette, surveying the damage he'd done. Blood was cascading out of the bartender's nose and I figured that a baseball bat or a rifle hiding under the counter would be drawn at any minute. Johnny grabbed my arm and began pulling me outside while Two-Bit did the same to Dal.

"Looks like we won't be going back in there," Two-Bit stated with a small laugh.

Dal and I screamed at each other the whole way home while Pony and Johnny watched in amazement at our vocabularies. Maybe I shouldn't have hung out at Finn's place if I'd known he'd had a crush on me, but it wasn't like I was initiating anything. Both of us were furious and dealing with out own shit, me with Stillwater and Dallas over a fight he'd had with Shepard over stealing Curly's hubcaps, and were itching to yell.

"Ya thinkin' about leaving me for Finn? I reckon he's almost thirty and you two could run that bar together," Dal screamed.

"Just shut your trap," I shrieked back, "You don't know nothing about nothing. You were just looking to blow off steam you crazy bastard."

You couldn't be a greaser couple without having fights like these on occasion. Hell, Steve and Evie made it a weekly thing, so our remarks were biting and we didn't mean half of what we were saying. Darry, Soda, and Steve were sitting on the porch waiting for us when we pulled up to the house and they all smirked while Dal and I went at it in the middle of the street. Dallas threw a stick in anger and I picked up a rock and hurled it in his general direction. This was enough to set him off down the street and I yelled obscenities at his retreating back. Stomping into the house, I lit up a cigarette and poured myself a stiff drink. The rest of the guys followed me inside and we sat at the table while Darry brought out the dishes of food.

"Do you wanna go tell Dal dinner's on the table?" Soda requested with a grin.

If it wasn't so funny I would have probably decked him.

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Happy Holidays everybody. I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I sure did. Reviews please. And I will do my best to update ASAP. Thank you.**


	52. Chapter 52

**Sorry it's been so long again. It's safe to say updates won't be as frequent as before with the workload I've taken on and such, but I will definitely be aiming for a new chapter at least every two weeks. Thanks for those who have stuck with this story and continue to read it. Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 52:**

Exhaustion had overtaken me last night and sleep had come easy despite the Stillwater rumble and my fight with Dal running through my mind. Dallas had trekked over to Buck's after our argument and when Two-Bit and I stopped over for a beer and a little Tulsa gossip, we caught him going shot-for-shot with Curly Shepard. At around sun up, I'd heard the Matthews' door slam close and a drunken Dally bump into every table and chair as he threw up his guts into the toilet. Two-Bit sniggered loudly from the bed next to me before throwing a pillow over his head and falling back to sleep instantly. I laid awake for awhile, listening to Dallas moaning in the bathroom and cursing Buck's cheap gin. Quietly, I lit a cigarette and enjoyed a smoke while sleep started to overcome me. Stubbing out my weed, I was out before I even hit the pillow.

"Dallas! I ain't cleaning this mess up and I gotta take a shower so you need to stop being a bump on a log and take care of this!" I heard Emily's shrill voice at quarter to eleven.

Deciding we should face the day, Two-Bit and I emerged from our bedroom after throwing on an outfit for the day. Emily had gotten sassy over the past couple of months and I figured she would be taking after her brother in no time. Dal grumbled incoherently at her while Emily rubbed his shoulder roughly to break him out of his comatose state. Soda and Steve were enjoying a day off and were sipping cokes at the dining room table while playing cards and enjoying the scene before them.

"Y'all may think this is funny but the bathroom smells like a damn sewer," Emily stated, her rusty-colored hair shaking violently about her head.

Patting the girl's head affectionately, I headed into the kitchen to pour myself a glass of milk, commenting on the boys drinking pop before noon.

"Dal got into it with some grease last night," Soda said to no one in particular, ignoring my comment.

"Oh yeah?" Two-Bit asked, "He got into it with my toilet last night too."

I'm sure if Dally was awake to the world he would have slugged Two-Bit for his cockiness. We all drink a little too much sometimes so I didn't much feel like taking a sting at Dal's ego. Steve asked if we were made up yet and I raised my eyebrow in typical Two-Bit fashion before tipping his chair that he'd been leaning back on. Figuring the boy's would all be hungry, I whipped up eggs for everybody just how they liked them and even put aspirin, water, and cigarettes on the coffee table for Dallas when he decided to grace us with his hungover self. I told Emily to lay off until after breakfast and she huffily grabbed a cigarette and left with a good slam of the door.

"Since when does she smoke?" I asked bewilderedly.

"About a month or so now. She don't do it often and I'm aiming to keep it that way for a while," Two-Bit stated, finally on the ball when it came to knowing what his little sister was doing.

Shrugging, I muttered that it was about time she started. After all, she was going to be fourteen in a few months and most greasers were smoking by the time they reached double digits.

"I was wonderin' why I was always missing cigarettes. I thought it was you stealin' em," I said sleepily as I rubbed my eyes.

"Probably was me too," Two-Bit grinned and I shot him a glare, telling him I work hard to afford my smokes.

The whole table erupted in a fit of laughter at this, since poker and pool games supported my habit. Emily came back in after a few minutes and slammed the door loudly once again to wake Dallas up.

"Em, I swear to god if you don't let me sleep I'm gunna jump whatever boy you're dating this week," Dal growled menacingly.

The young girl faltered for only a minute before crossing her arms and staring determinedly at him.

"You sure do look look like your Ma when you do that," Steve told her.

The phone rang next to the sofa and I pushed Dal's feet off to the side and sat down before answering.

"Hey Preston, what's up with the good times?" I stated knowingly.

I'd been expecting his call and Preston was always on time. He'd been filling me in daily on what was going on in Stillwater. Things were good, but Preston mentioned the tension on the streets was high. Fooling with the lighter I'd lifted from the drug store, I ran the warm flame delicately through my fingers, singing my hands when Preston explained that Wheatley was strung out on all kinds of shit and his brother might be stepping into his leadership position for good.

"Might be?" I demanded, "I don't deal with maybes. Call me back when you know the details."

Hanging up the phone without so much as a goodbye, I rubbed my eyes furiously before contemplating things over. Wheatley and I would be having a talk when I saw him next and it was not going to be a good conversation. The guys looked at me questioningly while I waved their looks away with a flick of my wrist. This was business and I wasn't going to stress it until I knew the truth. Figuring a game of pool would get my mind off of this mess, I plucked Two-Bit's keys off of our dresser and the guys and Emily followed me into the car. Even Dallas managed to get his sorry ass off of the couch and clean up the mess he'd made last night as well as himself some.

"I want in on next game," I stated when I stepped into the pool hall.

The place was deserted except for the current game going on so I warmed up at another table playing against Steve, the best player out of the bunch. Two-Bit was staring as his sister talked with a few of the younger grease boys that were watching the game in disinterest. Soda had his usual band of girl followers and was basking in the flirtatious glory. Dally was sitting in a booth, sipping at a Pepsi and looking surly. We caught each other's eye a few times and he motioned for me to sit next to him. Figuring I'd warmed up enough, I slid easily into the booth.

"You look like you downed a whole bottle to yourself last night."

"Shep's gunna kill me for gettin' Curly reeling drunk again'."

Nodding, I helped myself to a sip of his Pepsi and leaned in when he put an arm around my shoulder. His eyes looked tired and his white-blond hair was matted where his head had rested on the pillow.

"Can we just get out of here?" He asked me suddenly.

For some reason, I found myself nodding and let him push me gently out of the booth. Dal waved at the gang and grabbed my hand as we exited the pool hall. I heard someone yell about me having next game and faintly remember telling them Steve would fill in for me. The walk to Buck's only took a few minutes and he nodded at us while we ascended the stairs. His lips were on mine before the door was even fully shut and I kissed him back hungrily. Within moments, I slipped off his shirt with ease while he did the same to me after. He lifted me up by my thighs and pushed me against the door, trailing kisses down my neck while holding me firmly. My fingers ran through Dal's hair while our lips met again. Dallas stumbled to the bed while still holding me and I crawled on top of him, kissing his collarbone and running my hands down his chest. We were both caught up in the passion of the moment and didn't hear the pounding of boots coming up the stairs, didn't hear the jangle of the door knob. Only when the door gave a resounding creak did the two of us finally hear our approacher.

"Tim do you mind?" Dally shouted angrily while covering my shirtless figure with his body.

Shepard let his eyes wander from my bra down my tanned stomach, stopping where my jeans began, and he smiled while advancing his gaze to look me in the eye. A small blush tinged my cheeks and I turned my back as to not let Tim see. Cursing for not thinking to lock the door, I pulled my shirt over my head and roughly struck up a weed, lighting a match against Dal's St. Christopher's necklace. Dallas looked nothing less than furious at getting interrupted and scooted off the bed to find himself face to face with Tim. It was obvious why he was here and I knew another famous Winston vs. Shepard fight was in the making.

"Get dressed," Dal told me as he descended the stairs with Tim hot on his heels.

"Lookin' good doll," Shep's cat-like voice trailed as he made his way down the stairs.

The sound of broken glass and Buck's yelling echoed from down below and I ran my fingers through my hair to make myself look decent. My feet silently padded down the stairs, and I seated myself on the third step, well enough away from the action. There were only a handful of people in the bar and none of them looked excited at the thought of pulling the two notorious hoods apart. When things got too rough, however, Buck convinced the two of them to take it outside and they left with Shepard tackling Dal outside.

"Christ, I can't deal with this shit no more," Buck muttered to himself while pouring a few shots and downing them quickly.

A twang of pity rushed through me until Buck looked at me and shot me his crooked smile, asking if Dal and I had gotten hot and heavy before Shepard had interrupted.

"They ain't the only ones in a fighting mood so I suggest you watch your mouth," I retaliated bitterly.

Curly must have gone home drunk out of his mind last night for Tim to come looking for Dallas and it only being two o'clock in the afternoon. I don't exactly see what this had to do with Dally, seeing as he wasn't pouring the liquor down Curly's throat or anything. Still, this wasn't the first time Curly had drank himself stupid while in Dal's company and I reckon Tim was tired of making up for his younger brother's antics. A few minutes later I heard a car peel out of the parking lot and Dally stepped through the doors of the bar looking a little worse for wear. Neither of them had won, hell neither of them ever did, they fought until they felt the other had paid their dues. This time, when we walked up the stairs to a bedroom, we had different intentions in mind. I led Dal to the bed and gently lifted his shirt off, grimacing at the black and blues that were already starting to form.

"And I thought that hangover was the worst I was gunna feel today," Dal moaned.

He laid back after that and shut his eyes, promising me he wasn't sleeping but just resting. I chuckled softly when his breathing became heavier.

"Come to bed, babe," He mumbled drowsily, pulling me up against him.

Not having the heart to tell him I wasn't tired in the least, I laid comfortably in his arms and occupied myself to the sounds of the bar filling up downstairs. Two-Bit and Steve's voices rose up to the bedroom after about an hour and I shimmied out of Dally's light grasp to go and join my friends. Kissing Dal on the shoulder, I glanced back at him one more time before shutting the door lightly.

'**You are one charming boy Dallas Winston.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Well there you go, a little fluff and a little Shepard/Dally drama. Please review and let me know what you think!**


	53. Chapter 53

**Hey guys, thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. I'm glad that new readers are adding me to their favorite author/stories lists and am happy that we still have readers from the beginning. Here we go with….**

**CHAPTER 53:**

Going inside means admitting it, admitting that I'd just witnessed a murder. Jack's dead and he ain't never coming back to hustle me and my gang no more. Sure, I'd seen people die before, you couldn't live around these parts and not see things like that, but this was different. This was planned, premeditated and occurred just a few feet from where I stood. His blood is still plastered on my shirt, acting as a reminder that I'm never going to be the same again. We're square now; he killed Jesse and I allowed him to get killed by Kingfischer. That rumble is going to burn clear in my mind until the day that I die.

_The energy was something that I'd never seen before. My gang was burning and ready for their first real chance to get back at Jack Larson for ordering the death of our beloved friend. We were chomping at the bit, sitting in Frankie's house and waiting for quarter til. Some were drinking and getting a nice buzz, others covered their nervousness with laughter, while I sipped at a coke with a content smile on my face. Adam was true to his word; my brother would be out in two years. Preston, Frank, and I had agreed that telling the gang the day of the rumble was the best idea to keep the murder under wraps. They'd all sat, stony faced as they contemplated. Ian had grinned evilly and wished he could commit the act himself. Janice had nodded her approval. No one opposed and they were pleased that my brother would be released early. The mood was good as we piled out the door and began the walk to the empty alleyways next to the docks. My blade sat coolly in my pocket, freshly sharpened and ready to fight for my honor. A bike chain dangled out of my jeans, a second weapon should my switch get lost in the shuffle. Wheatley and Dupree met up with us on Sansdale and Fifth Avenue. They all looked ready and able to fight; even Wheatley seemed to have laid off the drugs for the event._

"_Larson," I greeted with a nod as we advanced upon the battlegrounds. _

"_Flighter, Wheatley, Dupree, nice night for a rumble," He replied with a smirk._

_Looking Jack in his pale gray eyes, I shook at knowing this was the last time I would see him alive. For a fleeting second, I felt like telling him to get in his car and get as far away from this place as he could, but as Jesse's face eclipsed the thought, the hatred returned. Ian stepped up to start the rumble and a few seconds ticked by before an opponent stepped into the light pushing down from the dim streetlamp. Kingfischer briefly met my eyes and I nodded ever so slightly to show my loyalty. He allowed a brief smile to pass his lips; a secret burning between the two of us. My feet started to shuffle back and forth as Ian eyed his challenger dangerously. That kid was in for it; rumbles brought even more fury out of my hazardous friend. They had one girl to our two and I'd give her to Janice to take care of. Most of the boys had a few inches on me and I searched the crowd to pick off one close to my size. I may be strong but I sure ain't stupid. These weren't drunken socs or greaser girls, these are seasoned fighters. Ian threw the first punch and man was it a hard one. The attack began moments after the crack of the kid's jaw subsided and I went in swearing, swinging, and screaming. _

_Things were a blur after that. I vaguely remember pulling the bike chain out and choking one of Larson's crew while Dupree pounded him senseless. My long hair was tied up in a bun to keep me from being a simple target; hair is easy to get at in a fight. It felt like the fighting went on for hours. My arms were beginning to tighten and blood was rushing from a gash above my right eyebrow as I swung my fists into the gut of my enemy. My ankle was jarred after being stomped on by one of Larson's bunch and I was sure that it was sprained. Air was rushing in and out of my lungs as I struggled for breath and strength to continue. Another guy didn't fill in my fallen rival's place and I figured the end was near. The other side was falling back and as the dust settled we were cheering our victory. Kingfischer raised his hands and admitted defeat while Larson bitterly spat blood on the ground, refusing to admit the loss. Adam kicked out his legs and silence ensued as their leader tumbled to the ground. _

"_No one gives a damn what you have to say any more, Jack," Kingfischer shouted angrily. _

_Tempers varied within Larson's gang. Some knew of the overthrow while others were in complete shock. Still, no one made an attempt to prevent Adam as he viciously punched his leader until he stopped attempting to get off the ground. He didn't ask Jack to beg, didn't give him the chance to skip town. Instead, the shining pistol came out in all its glory and was wielded on Jack Larson. I've never seen pupils shrink that small, to almost nothing. _

"_Ple, Ple, Please don't do this," Jack managed to stutter out. _

_I was rigid and stiff as Adam verbally tore Larson to pieces. The fuzz was bound to show after all the racket we'd made. People in this neighborhood were sick and tired of the gangs and the violence that went along with them and they were willing to call the police at any chance to get a few of us jailed. _

"_Take it like a man, Larson," Kingfischer screamed as he lowered the gun to Jack's temple. _

_I'd expected Larson to writhe around and try to pry the heater out of Adam's hand. Instead, he situated himself on his knees and prayed to god until the bullet lodged itself into his brain. Kids like us don't got any god to pray to; it must be true that with death comes faith. Blood erupted from the wound because of the shot being fired in such close range and I flinched as a splash of the crimson liquid littered my cheek. Larson would never hang at the corner store again, trash talking broads and picking fights. He'd never plan another gang rising. He'd also never kill another one of my friends. No one spoke and the sound of sirens began to fill the crisp night air. Before we scattered, the crew formerly known as Larson began to clap. It was slow at first but quickly turned into a hollering frenzy. To any bystander, it would have looked like they'd just won the rumble instead of the other way around. They were happy, truly happy about what had taken place while I stood there mystified. _

"_To Kingfischer, the new leader of the Lansdale turf," I concluded finally._

_After Dupree, Wheatley, and I shook his hand, we were off into the night in order to escape a visit to the local jailhouse. My travel was slow due to my ankle and Frankie threw my arm around his shoulders to quicken my pace._

"_That was fucking nuts," He stated._

_All I could do was nod. Everything about the murder of Jack Larson was plaguing my mind. If there is a hell, would I be going there for allowing this to happen? Or am I already on my way there because of the other things I've done? Frank was talking to me but all I could hear was a dull buzzing. The gash to my eye must have messed my head up something awful. It felt like years until the two of us finally made our way up the path to Frankie's house. All the gang was there, and most of us were more than a little worse for wear. Those that were better off were helping to clean up the seriously wounded. I stumbled over to the couch and lifted up my pant leg, revealing my ankle which was swollen to the size of a small melon._

"_Shit," I cursed darkly. _

_Preston stitched up my face and did a bad job of it, but as long as it holds together I won't complain much. My ankle was of more concern, however, and the soothing coldness of the ice was finally starting to numb the throbbing pain. We celebrated our victory over the next few days, and I stuck around for a week to make sure that no funny business happened. Luckily, I avoided any contact with my father, but recognized that luck was soon to run out. After being sure that there wasn't going to be any jazz after the rumble, I loaded my small pack into Two-Bit's car and bid farewell to my friends. Leaving them was always tough, but they did their best to make it easy._

"_Take care of yourself, we'll miss you," Ian told me before shutting the car door and waving at me until he was nothing more then a speck._

_The ride back to Tulsa was hard, seeing as driving with a fucked up ankle ain't no easy feat. I tried my best to get my mind off the pain, taking a few aspirin every once in a while. The rumble played freely through my mind what must have been about a hundred times. Lighting up a smoke, I rolled the window down and let the wind rustle through my hair. The night was chilly but I figured I was shivering for another reason. Man, I sure don't feel tough right now but I let it slide because I bet any hood who ever played a role in a murder felt the same way; at least their first time. The outskirts of the greaser side of town began to materialize in front of me and I gunned it to the Curtis'. Limping roughly up the path, I opened the light screen door and the guys took me in, looking first at my eye, then at the hole in my shirt where a knife had nicked me and sliced my side up, and lastly at how I was favoring my right ankle. _

"I hate to ask this but did y'all win or lose Orion?" Darry asked.

"We won," I responded, moaning as I made my way over to the couch.

Each step felt like hell and I was relieved when Sodapop brought a pack of frozen peas from the kitchen and situated them on my ankle. The look in their eyes gave away the question they all wanted to ask.

"Kingfischer blew his brains out," I said bluntly.

I didn't spare them, knowing they were all tough enough to bear it.

"Jesus," Pony muttered, paling slightly.

Ponyboy's reaction is what made it all real. All the others who I'd talked to about Jack's death had had a front row seat. It hadn't felt real until now. Dallas and Two-Bit met my gaze and got the sense that I was about to bolt. When I tried to get up, they pushed me back down on the couch and held my arms firmly, afraid of what I might do.

"It ain't like you pulled the trigger," Dal soothed breathlessly as I struggled against him.

But at that moment is sure as hell felt like I had.

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Well there you go, the much awaited Stillwater rumble chapter. Let me know what you think with reviews!**


	54. Chapter 54

**Thanks to everybody on the reviews on the last chapter. I'm glad you all like Orion's exposed weak side. Right now, Orion is still in a bit of a funk but we will see how she turns out. Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 54:**

Over the next few days I spent a lot of my time down at the river alone. Dallas had sat me down at the Curtis' table the night I'd come home and fed me answers to the questions the cops were going to ask when I got hauled in. This was a murder case and the police would soon be knocking on my door after being tipped off by the Stillwater unit. Dal had hidden the shirt with Jack's blood on it while I wondered when in the hell I'd gotten so sloppy.

"Those bruises ain't gonna make you any less obvious either," He remarked.

Dallas dealt with this kind of stuff before; he knew the score better than most. I used to know the score too, at least until my head entered this fog. A fish jumped and caught my attention, making me remember how Pop used to take me and Pat fishing before he decided he liked the bottle more than us. Ashing my weed out on a rock next to me, I rubbed my eyes warily. Larson's death didn't faze me as much as the fact that Kingfischer was willing to become a murderer for his gang, and in front of all of us like that. Luckily, I've never had to kill anyone, but I couldn't help but wonder what it felt like. A rustling of leaves startled me and I relaxed when a head full of complicated swirls emerged out of the brush.

"Saw Two-Bit's car up by the road and figured you'd be down here."

Nodding, the two of us sat in silence for a while with our own thoughts. Steve was still in his work shirt and the blood dripping freely from his knuckles mentioned a wall falling victim to his anger after another spat with his father.

"You know you're gonna be alright, Orion," Steve spoke slowly.

"So are you," I replied while looking out at the cool water.

Casually, Steve draped an arm across my shoulder and whistled a tune I didn't recognize. In that moment, I knew I was going to be fine. Neither of us had a jacket and decided to call it quits after an hour or so due to the cool night air. Steve helped me as I limped away from the riverbed and I tailed his pick up as we made our way over to the Curtis house, finding the rest of the gang sitting idly on the porch. A squad car was out front and I swore under my breath as I advanced upon the scene; I'd thought it would have taken longer for them to track me down. Shit, I figured the Stillwater cops were still searching for some sign of me.

"Your father was a real help to figuring out where you've been hiding," One of the officers, Dooley, stated, "Your gang had the unit up in Stillwater going for a few days."

Laughing lightly, I told the officers I wasn't hiding.

"Now what exactly can I do for y'all?" I asked, feigning unawareness.

"Don't mess around, kid. You know damn well that your little rumble the other night resulted in the death of Jack Larson and we got some questions to ask you about it."

"And maybe I got some answers," I chirped, lighting a cigarette and leaning against the railing in typical greaser fashion.

"Guessing by the state you're in I'd say you do kid," the other suit, Tyler, mentioned.

Staring hard, I told the two gentlemen to stop calling me kid. They laughed before roughly beginning to push me toward their car. No handcuffs were placed on my wrists since I went willingly. The gang was tense at the presence of the police and Dal winked at me to show his support. His eyes read 'play it cool, just like I told you' and I nodded in understanding. The drive to the station felt like it took years. The policeman made a few comments but I just stared determinately out the window and enjoyed the calming sensation of a cigarette. Once we got the station, I saw Tim Shepard walking out of its doors while cracking some dirty joke to Curly. The younger Shepard looked tired and I figured he'd been out collecting bail to get his brother out. The two stopped once Curly pointed over at me and I greeted them in passing. Shep mouthed off to the cops, content with his new found freedom, while Curly cackled from behind him.

"What the hell are you gettin' dragged in here fer anyways?" Curly drawled.

Tim whispered something that made Curly's eyes widen in brief surprise before nodding at me in respect. I knew Tim had connections feeding him information so it came as no surprise that he'd heard about Larson. Hell, Dal could have even mentioned it casually; Tim ain't one to run his mouth to the wrong people. Pulling me roughly away, the cops said they didn't have all day to throw a tea party for the three of us to get caught up and each Shepard clapped me on the back before continuing their walk to Tim's car. The questioning went just like it had gone every other time I'd found myself in the situation.

'Where were you last Thursday night?' came the first question, which I answered truthfully. They asked if I'd participated in the rumble.

"Y'all couldn't have me here if I didn't. Next question."

Dooley looked like he wanted to belt me across the face and I leaned into the table, getting closer to him, and grabbed my cigarettes off the surface. Tyler told me Jack Larson was shot and killed that night and I responded that I was well aware of that fact. Each officer tightened at this news and I started to rattle off the tale that my gang was using to keep our hands clean of this matter.

"It happened during the rumble. There we all were, battlin' it out when I heard the shot go off. We all threw ourselves to the ground, not knowing where the hell it came from. Then Larson's crew starts goin' nuts because Jack ain't getting up off the ground. We all booked it after that."

"This 'we' that you keep referring to. These people got names?"

Chuckling, I told the officers that I couldn't do their entire job for them and refused to mention anybody who'd been witness. My legs got stiff after a while, and I stretched out as I was bombarded with more and more accusations. Their captain came in at one point and the policemen excused themselves for a brief period. When they came back, they looked furious. I knew this was going to work out in my benefit and I was correct for I was released soon after; their evidence had run out and getting a confession out of me was a lost cause. Tyler pulled me aside when I tried to walk through the door and I struggled against his strong grip.

"If you are ever feeling in more truthful a mood, you just give me a call, Flighter. Whoever you're trying to protect ain't worth it. Remember that next time that bullet could be in your brain."

"Yeah and it could be coming from your gun, chief," I retaliated.

This irked Tyler and he shoved me away with more force then I expected, causing me to trip a bit before regaining my composure. Remarking on the fine attitude of Tulsa police officers, I strolled away as defiantly as you can with a sprained ankle. Figuring the gang was waiting on the outcome of my visit to the station, I hitched a ride with some greasers I knew from school and landed at the Curtis' in no time. With a wave of thanks, Manson Davis sped off down the block with his boys in search of some action.

"How'd it go?" Darry asked as soon as I stepped through the door.

Shrugging I told the gang the cops were off my back for now and sat down tiredly on the couch. My ankle was throbbing steadily and I cursed as I rolled my pant leg up to expose the purple and black wound.

"That officer Tyler ain't such a nice guy," I said, "Practically threw me to the ground when I was leaving."

Soda said pigs ain't ever nice guys and I had to agree that he had a point there. Two-Bit handed me a bottle of rum and a few aspirin to cure the pain and I gulped the alcohol down without much effort. The numbing sensation that ensued after felt good and I sat basking in my buzz as I relaxed slowly. The boys mentioned going to see a movie and a party afterward, but I knew I'd be better off hanging out at home and catching up on some sleep. Dally opted to stay with me and we bid the gang farewell and exited to drive over to the Matthews. His right arm reached for my hand as we flew past the lot and I grabbed his bigger hand in my small one in need.

"Babe, you really need to relax a little bit," Dal stated.

I knew he was right and if I could shake it I would. The rum had helped some but I wasn't intent on getting drunk at the current time. Dal seemed nervous that I wasn't my usual, carefree self. Stuff doesn't usually faze me and he don't get why I would start to let it now. Dallas doesn't like vulnerable people and I don't like being something that he doesn't like. My silence about everything annoyed Dally and I shrugged my shoulders in defeat, flipping on the radio in retreat of the awkwardness. Hank Williams' 'Hey Good Lookin' was blasting and the two of us swore simultaneously at the memory of Buck. Smirking a bit, I popped another cigarette in my mouth, making me hit just about two packs today.

"Maybe we should run over to Shepard's and get me a joint or something," I said seriously.

Dal looked like he was contemplating it for a minute before shaking his head roughly from side to side. I didn't get why he was so against the day seeing as how before I'd left for Stillwater, Dal and Tim had picked me up from school smelling so bad of grass I'm surprised me and Curly didn't feel a bit loopy just from the contact.

"I'll make ya feel better, doll," Dally suggested as he looked at me with a grin that I wanted to wipe off his face.

His looked turned sour as he told me he'd only been joking.

"Hilarious," I muttered in retaliation, knowing my dark blue eyes and his pale ones were both turning to ice.

I didn't bother to follow Dal inside when we reached the Matthews and he shook his head when I didn't walk through the door he'd been holding. My eyes drooped tiredly while I sat in the old wicker chair Sarah had lounging outside. A spasm from my legs brought me back and I was shocked to find the sky had darkened. Dallas was standing over me and I eyed him wickedly, still pissed about before. He sighed for the twentieth time that evening and sat on the arm of the chair, lifting my chin with his hands and kissing me gently on the lips.

"I just want you back, babe."

'**I'll be coming back soon.'**

**END OF CHAPTER..**

**Okay so this chapter has a detached sorta feel because of how Orion is feeling about the murder. Can Dal pull her back to earth? Review and wait to find out.**


	55. Chapter 55

**Alright here we are with an update on the story. Sorry it's been so long, but I couldn't decide if I wanted a lead in chapter to what's coming next or if I wanted to rush into it. I decided for a lead in. So here we go with….**

**CHAPTER 55:**

"Wake up, you're shaking something awful," Two-Bit stated, looking at me in worry.

"Watimeisit?" I muttered incoherently as I tried to adjust to the dim light filling the room.

Two-Bit told me that it was five o'clock in the morning. Rubbing the icy sweat from the nape of my neck, I shimmied into a pair of wheat jeans and ventured over to the windowsill in my stocking feet, effortlessly lighting a smoke and starting out at the faint skyline. Curly's snores were sounding from the living room; Tim had sent him over to lay low after he'd pulled a blade on some soc at the drive-ins last night. Dallas, I'm guessing, is over at the Curtis' sleeping off a hangover with Soda and Steve. They'd rode the Ribbon last night while I'd caught a movie with Johnny and Pony. Two-Bit had had a bummer of a date, ending his evening early with a six pack and a measly kiss on the cheek from "the most undesirable blonde he'd ever had to pleasure to go out with," according to him anyways. My friend was staring at me now, mustering his infamous lopsided grin as he jittered his feet in the excitement that always surrounded Two-Bit Matthews, even at the crack of dawn.

"Curly will most likely get the reformatory again," I said, striking up conversation.

Two-Bit shrugged, "Tim's gonna make sure they don't find him to send him. In a week this will all be blown over."

If that meant a week of Curly bumming around here grumbling about being pent up, then I reckon we're all in for one hell of a time.

"What were ya dreamin' about?" Two-Bit asked me innocently as he stifled a yawn.

I told him not to worry about it and advised that he grab a few more hours of shuteye, but all that earned me as an icy glare.

"You were shaking like you got the devil inside of you. Course I'm worried."

A slight blush rose to my cheeks. Greasers like me shouldn't be having nightmares that make them shake in their boots; that kind of stuff was for kids. It was a little embarrassing to be so vulnerable and I wished for the first time that my buddy and me didn't share a bedroom. Two-Bit knew what my dreams were about, he wasn't as stupid as people took him for, but I wasn't itching to get into a conversation regarding the matter. The past few nights I've been having these dreams that all feature a disoriented version of Jack's death. I'd never realized that I had this much imagination pent up inside me before.

"Tell me more about this broad from last night," I said as I dropped down tiredly on my bed.

It was an obvious subject change, but Two-Bit took it in stride and threw a quilt over me as he began to talk. I don't think either of us made it past the first few minutes of the tale as we became swallowed into unconsciousness.

"Why in the hell is a member of the Shepard outfit hanging out on our couch?!" Emily's shrill scream came from the doorway at ten.

Feeling much more rested, I eased myself out of bed and silenced the young girl, explaining why Curly was here and telling her that she needed to keep it quiet at school. Emily didn't seem pleased at having Curly Shepard, younger brother of the most notorious gang leader in Tulsa, sitting under our roof and I couldn't say I blamed her. She was still a little bit too young to understand the way things worked. Just because you're in a gang don't make you untouchable. Still, she had some idea of the score. The young girl respected Tim, and would never be hollerin' on like she is now if he would have been the one sitting on the couch hiding out.

"Mornin' Curly."

The younger Shepard gave me an evil look and I figured he'd heard Emily talking about him. After explaining that she didn't mean anything by it, Curly called her a snob before reaching for the newspaper and scanning the pages until he found an article that peaked his interest. I raised my eyebrows and would finally be able to put the rumors to rest; Curly Shepard could in fact read.

"Tim's probably having a field day with this shit," the dark-haired boy declared as he put the paper down after a few minutes.

"Most likely," I replied.

Curly began thinking out loud, imagine the scene that was going on at his house, "Mom's probably fighting with _him_ about not kicking me out, Tim's at the stationed getting questioned about my whereabouts, and Angel's upstairs crying in her room and sipping on a bottle of sneaky pete thinking me and Tim are both gonna get hauled away."

His eyes burned in a deep hatred for the step-father that was now present in his life. Tim and Curly have never been silent about their great dislike for the man who treats them all bad and doesn't give a damn about the bruises he leaves on his wife. He knows better then to lay a hand an Angel or Curly though; Tim would kill him with his bare hands if he ever took a swing at one of them. Emily cooked up a pan of eggs with a side of bacon and I banged loudly on the door to wake Two-Bit up. The four of us sat at the table, Curly adding to our already blended family. He wasn't used to home-cooked meals, you could tell the Dingo's burgers and fries were what filled him up most of the time, and I watched in awe as he eyed the food happily before digging in. Two-Bit cracked a smirk before picking up his own fork. Maybe having Curly here wasn't going to be so bad. The sound of the screen door creaking open and slamming shut pulled us all away from our meal, and Dallas was before us looking clean-shaven and smirking like a madman.

"I just heard, man," Dal said as he clapped Curly on the back roughly and laughed, "You pulled a fucking knife on the son of the owner of Morgan Power Plant. Talk about a way to get back at those rich bastards."

The young teen grinned in realization at what he had done while he launched into telling Dally the details firsthand. Dal lifted me off of my seat and placed me on his lap, listening intently as he bit at a piece of bacon. When I tried to stand to help Emily clear the plates, Dallas wrapped an arm tightly around my middle and smirked playfully at me, keeping a solid hold on me until Curly was finished. When I was finally allowed to stand, I picked up the plates Emily couldn't manage and headed into the kitchen, throwing a towel at Curly's retreating back as he began peeling off his shirt for a shower. As I was running water over the dishes, I heard Two-Bit talking in a low murmur to Dal and saw the two boys glance at me simultaneously. A few moments later, Dallas came into the kitchen to find me scrubbing furiously at the dishes. He shooed Emily away and propped himself against the counter, watching me.

"I don't like being stared at," I said.

"I'm not here to pick a fight with you, doll, so let's not even get started on that," Dally replied, "Are you okay?"

"It's just dreams. It ain't real,"

Sighing, Dal mentioned that he and Tim were going to rearrange Lance Brooke's face for cheating on Angela and that they'd be back here later for a poker night with the rest of our gang.

"I'll be here," I promised as I wiped my hands on a tablecloth and kissed Dal on the cheek, watching him exit the house and engaging in his legendary strut.

Not exactly how either of us wanted this to go, but at least we didn't end it in another screaming match. Two-Bit was pleased with our plans for later this evening and headed for the liquor store to stock up on booze. Maybe getting good and drunk is what I need to shake myself out of this.

"You're acting like a fucking pansy about all of this," a frustrated Curly stated when he emerged from the bathroom clad in a pair of dark jeans, "Larson wasn't nothing to you so what does it matter if he's dead?"

It was clear that Curly had overheard Two-Bit at the table and had been planning his attack as he freshened himself up. I glared at Curly, telling him it wasn't any of his goddamn business how I was acting about anything. He sneered and said that he thought I was tough.

"And what you're some kind of God because you pulled a switch on an unarmed soc?" I retaliated angrily.

"Did I say I was?" He sparked back bitterly.

Both of us were pacing angrily. Curly was more like me than he would ever be like his older brother. Neither of us is made of ice and we both have the tendency to wear our emotions on our sleeves. I was smarter and could play that icy exterior Tim usually demonstrated upon occasion, but both of us had spitting tempers and the inability to keep still when things got in a bind.

"We was friends once," I said slowly, "He wasn't nothin' to me."

"Were him and Jesse friends once?" He countered back quickly.

And like a ton of bricks, all the hate I had for Jack Larson came rushing back so fast it almost knocked me off my feet. Curly Shepard had finally drilled it into my head in a way that I could understand.

'**On this side of town, it's always an eye for an eye.'**

**END OF CHAPTER..**

**Alright there ya go. Review and let me know what you thought. There's so many stories comparing Curly and Tim. I've always seen them as two totally different characters. Him and Orion do have similarities which are demonstrated here. Thanks for reading!**


	56. Chapter 56

**Here's the next update in the story. It's not a filler chapter, but there isn't much action going on due to the last couple of chapters. The gang is preparing for the party and Emily has a secret to tell. Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER:**

A cigarette was dangling skillfully out of mouth as I sat crouched up in Two-Bit's sink while applying some makeup to my tanned face. Sarah would kill me if she saw me doing it, which is why Emily and I only participate in this practice when she's at work. The younger girl was trying on a slew of outfits for her night out at the movies while I was getting ready for the little shindig going on at our place tonight. Poker, booze, and the gang sounded like a perfect combo to me.

"Too short," I murmured as I hopped down after my quick makeup session, "Your brother won't let ya leave in that and ya know it."

"The boys seemed to like it," Emily remarked sourly.

She was referring mainly to Curly because Ponyboy and Johnny wouldn't be caught dead scoping out Two-Bit's kid sister like that. I muttered that that was exactly my point and told Emily to wear her red skirt with the white blouse. After biting her lip and contemplating for a few minutes, Emily smirked and bounded up the stairs happily. Curly nicked the cigarette right out of my mouth, grumbling that he'd smoked both his packs today. Having mercy on him wasn't hard; he wouldn't see much except the back porch and the downstairs of the Matthews' for the next few days, and knowing Tim was too busy to pick up his brother cigarettes, I took Johnny with me to pick him up a carton of smokes. Dallas and I had noticed that Johnny didn't like Curly much but he'd never say anything about it because Pony and him get along pretty well. Curly's the type of wiseass grease that causes trouble simply to cause trouble and quiet Johnny Cade had enough on his plate without going to look for more of it.

"I heard about your dreams," Johnny said casually, "I used to have them too."

My throat constricted for a second in a feeling I wasn't quite sure I knew. Johnny hardly, if ever, mentioned killing Bob Sheldon to anyone. It had to be on his mind plenty though: when he was sleeping in the lot or having a morning cigarette and watching Tulsa's downtown come to life. I stopped walking and placed my hand lightly on Johnny's shoulder. Simultaneously we both met each other's eyes and took a long drag of our smokes. Johnny was the first to come back to earth, and he grabbed my arm gently and led me in the direction of the corner store. I didn't feel comfortable enough to speak again until a cop walked out the exit of the drugstore as we were entering. A sadistic grin flashed over my face as I eyed the officer warily.

"Evenin', sir," I said, emphasizing the last word sarcastically.

Johnny just pushed me right on through the door, "I dunno who's mouthier any more; you or Two-Bit."

The smile that followed showed it didn't bother him all that much though.

"Two-Bit by a long shot," I joked back, "He could charm a snake."

And sure enough, there the devil was chatting up the girl at the counter while stuffing his pockets with all the books of matches and penny candies he could get his hands on. The girl was decent looking, but with her brown head of hair she might as well have been bald in Two-Bit's eyes.

"Hey buddy," I said as I slung an arm around Two-Bit's shoulders and dropped my voice real low, "Keep her busy for a few."

His smile grew bigger as he kept her talking while I slipped a few packs of Kools under my jacket. Sure, I felt bad for Curly being all cooped up, but his smokes were gonna come from a five finger discount, not my wallet. Satisfied with our plight, the three of us took off for the Matthews' house, hoping to find a greaser in a good enough mood to give us a lift. Lucky for us, Darry was heading home from work and beeped from behind, causing Johnny to jump a mile, and motioned his hand for us to pile in.

"Evenin' Darry," I said sweetly, not a sarcastic tone in my voice this time.

It was a tight squeeze in the pickup, even with me wedged on Two-Bit's lap, but Darry seemed happy that the poker match wasn't going to be held at the Curtis place. The people from the State were due again and the gang usually made ourselves scare around that time to keep the place looking less rundown.

"Y'all mind running by our place so's I can change out of these dirty clothes?"

None us cared and we were trotting up the Curtis' pathway just a few a minutes later with Two-Bit whistling happily under his breath. The three of us plunked down on the couch while Darry advanced down the hallway to his bedroom and shut the door lightly. Some cowboy and Indian movie was on television and we sat in a comfortable silence watching. Well, anyone who has ever been in the company of Two-Bit could tell you that him keepin' his trap shut didn't last long and sure enough we didn't even get up to the first chase scene without my friend starting in on everybody.

"It ain't a school dance, Dar. The only girls that'll be there are Orion and my Ma later on. Orion's taken but I reckon my old lady's willin' to take you out for a coke if ya doll yourself up just right."

None of us could keep a straight face after that and I laughed until tears came out of my eyes. Darry pinned Two-Bit to the floor and dared him to repeat what he'd just said.

"You think this is funny, kiddo?" He asked as I stifled a chuckle.

I shot out the door with Darry on my heels and the muscular man lifted me up on his shoulders as we made our way over to the truck where he dropped me lightly through the passenger window and I landed with my a dull thud on the cushion, my limbs all discombobulated.

"Damn Superman, you picked me up like I was nothin'."

"Compared to the boys you are."

He was right, of course. While all the boys were lean, even the lightest, Johnny or Ponyboy, had at least twenty pounds on me. It didn't take long for the Matthews' house to come into view and I walked through the door to find Curly bothering Pony for another cigarette.

"Here ya monger," I said as I threw him a pack.

This seemed to brighten Curly's dark mood from earlier this morning and I breathed a sigh of relief; Emily would have been sure to ream him out if he hadn't perked up. Steve emerged from the kitchen with Sodapop, surprising since I'd figured they were still at work, and tossed the drinkers a beer. I gulped mine down quickly out of pure thirst and decided to hold off on another one. Tonight was going to be full of alcohol and I wasn't looking to be drunk before the festivities really got going. Two-Bit finished his quickly and was obviously intent on drinking till he couldn't no more tonight since he grabbed another one. Darry rolled his eyes and probably wondered when in the hell Two-Bit would grow up. If I had to put money on it, I'd say never.

"Ri, I need your help!" Emily shouted from up the stairs.

I took the stairs two at a time and at the top of the hallway made a left. During my months staying at the Matthews' house, I'd probably only ventured upstairs a handful of times. There wasn't much up there for me except occasionally helping Sarah put laundry away or times like this with Emily. In all honesty, I don't think Two-Bit's even been up there once since reaching his teen years because his sister would never let him past her doorway and his mother would die of shock if he offered to fold clothes.

"What's shakin'?" I asked.

Judging by the way Emily was hesitant to answer me, I knew whatever was going to come out of her mouth wasn't going to be good. She was pacing the room nervously while I stood awkwardly in the doorway, wondering what in the hell this could be possibly be about.

"I, I, I got my period."

I scratched the back of my neck uncomfortably and wondered why the hell Emily couldn't go to one of her friends or her mother for advice on something like this. Sure, I'm a girl and I've been through all this before, but I'm not exactly the go-to girl for feminine advice. Swearing under my breath, I wished for once that Sarah didn't work nights and could explain this to her kid. Well, here goes nothing.

"It's not big deal, ya know? Every girl goes through it. The stuff you need is in the bathroom…."

My statement ended with my pretty much babbling and drifting off and it reminded me of my brother explaining to me what I was going through when I'd turned thirteen. Ma was in the hospital for one of her first extended checkups then so I'd gone to Patrick about it and let me tell you, my brother dealt with it even worse than I had just now. Emily was biting her lip to keep back a laugh and I smirked in spite of myself.

"Hey, I was just tryin' to help," I said.

"I think Two-Bit could've done a better job," She giggled.

After saying I could call him up right now, Em slammed the bedroom door and covered my mouth.

"I don't need the entire gang knowing about this," She yipped, "I was just wondering if I was going to be any different now. Everyone always says you'll feel different but I don't."

"It's like a birthday, ya dig? You know you're a year older and you think ya should feel a lot different but it doesn't really feel all that different. But ya gotta be careful now… with boys. Ya hear?"

I was doing my best to guide her through the situation but I feel like a girl really needs to talk to her mother about this kind of thing. Emily's eyes looked at me in confusion at my last remark but a light went off a moment later and her cheeks tinged pink in understanding.

"You're growing up now," I stated, finally feeling like it was the thing Emily wanted to hear, "You ain't Two-Bit's kid sister any more. You're a lady."

When I called Emily a lady, a smile lit up her face because it wasn't everyday greaser girls get called that. With her head held high, Emily hugged me quickly before descending the stairs. She understood it wasn't something to be embarrassed about and I'd hoped I hadn't said anything stupid. When I followed her down the steps a few minutes later, I grabbed another beer and chugged it dry. Christ that had been one of the most uncomfortable moments of my life.

"Two-Bit, where's that booze you picked up?"

Dally and Tim's return had us at a full house with a bunch of eager people wanting to play cards and get drunk. I was drinking a rum and coke quickly until Dal came over and lowered my glass.

"You might wanna slow down, we got a long night ahead of us," He said with a wink.

Laughing, I nodded in agreement and buried my head in Dally's shoulder and wrapping my arms around his waist before asking him how his fight with Lance went. Judging by the fact that neither Tim nor Dal looked like they had any serious battle scars, I was hoping it had gone well.

"We took turns kicking that bastard till he didn't stand up any more," Tim answered for him with a catlike smile on his face.

Dal clapped Tim roughly on the shoulder and I rolled my eyes at their manly gestures as Tim stole my drink and downed it easily. Cursing at Shepard good naturedly, I let Two-Bit fix me another and sat down next to Pony at the table. Pony was sipping a Pepsi and talking quietly with Johnny while Curly finished off yet another beer and swayed on his feet.

"Reckon he's gonna be a handful tonight," Pony said softly.

Tim watched his younger brother curiously like he hadn't known him his entire life. Shep knows how to get drunk just as good as the rest of us but even at his worst manages to keep control while. My drink found its way to my lips again and I barely even grimaced at how strong Two-Bit had made it. Before Steve could even finish dealing out the cards to our table, Jackson from Tim's gang was knocking on the door.

"Howdy y'all," He drawled once Two-Bit waved him into the house.

Jackson isn't high up in Tim's gang, which is why he's the one delivering whatever message he was about to give, but Shepard likes having him around often because the kid's so damn loyal. He pulled a switch on a greaser who'd made a cocky remark about Tim getting sent to the poke a few months back. And right there in the center of town and everything. Yeah, that guy's a piece of work. Tim guided Curly and Jackson into Two-Bit's bedroom for some privacy and we all sat around waiting. Shep's voice went from a dull whisper to a bitter, thunderous tone as he hustled Jackson for the information. Moments later, they emerged and Tim grabbed my drink yet again and downed it in an instant. Curly lit up two cigarettes and passed one to his brother, whose eyes were fiery and wild-looking.

"Fucking hippies," was all that Tim said as he threw his leather jacket over his shoulders and walked purposefully out of the house with Curly and Jackson on his heels.

Dallas and I shared glances from across the table. What in the hell could've happened that had Tim Shepard fleeing a night of cards of free beer?

'**Fucking hippies.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Sorry again that it took so long to update, but writer's block and school and all that kept me busy. I hope the longer chapter makes up for it some. Please review!**


	57. Chapter 57

Our game of cards just sort of fell apart once Tim and Curly had left

**So finally I'm back to updating on a more frequent basis. We left off with Tim marching out after remarking on a situation with the hippies. This chapter is definitely one of my favorite so please review. Here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 57:**

Our game of cards just sort of fell apart once Tim and Curly had left. Sodapop was asking Dallas and I all kinds of questions about what the Shepard gang was selling to the hippies but the two of us remained mum, each wondering just what in the hell was going on. The look in Tim's eyes had been something that I'd never seen in his stony blue irises: concern. Curly was supposed to be hiding out at the Matthews' till the end of the week but this had been serious enough for his brother to spring him early.

"I've heard about that shit they got those kids on," Two-Bit said wisely, "Acid. Half of the trips are the time of your life with all kinds of funky colors. The other half are terrors worse than anything you could ever believe."

Two-Bit knew the score about drugs. He was enough of a regular at all the parties in Tulsa to know what was getting passed around and what would happen to you if you happened to test them out. The hippies had moved beyond simply smoking grass and hanging around the corner store reading comic books. They were starting a movement, with more and more kids wearing their hair long and refusing to carry switchblades or throw a punch in a fight. You won't find many hippies hanging around these parts, since the greasers are always looking to jump an innocent who might have a few bucks on 'em. Cruise the Ribbon, though, and you'll find a pack of them pretty fast, scoring drugs before they head back to those free love houses that Frankie told me he'd ended up at once when he was wasted out of his mind.

' _You won't even believe those places, Orion. The place reeks of sex and grass, you can hardly tell the difference between the boys and the girls, and they share one bathroom to about twenty people. They'll let anyone into their house if you flash 'em a peace sign. It was far out, man.'_

The phone ringing didn't phase a soul and Dallas picked up, knowing it would be Tim. I watched his eyebrows furrow in concentration and nudged Two-Bit to get ready to head out when Dal mouthed that we needed to meet Shepard somewhere. When the phone was placed back on the receiver, Dally lit a smoke and explained the situation.

"One of those fucking stoners went crazy on that shit and ended up dead from jumping off the roof. Tim needs us to go over and help get rid of his stash. Jackson and Curly are riding the Ribbon to cut the Shepard gang from selling anything else tonight. Those peace-and-love fools didn't think to use a phone to call the damn cops so when one of Tim's gang went over to check up on things he found the dead kid. None of them are even making a move to clean the place up."

A low whistle escaped my lips as I followed Two-Bit into our bedroom to grab our jackets. I mentioned that this was pretty heavy and Two-Bit's solemn expression remarked that he felt similarly. It wasn't uncommon to hear about these types of death from time to time because of the hallucinations that often occur from taking LSD.

"Tim could get a few years in the Penn for this. They ain't taking drug crimes lightly. And I think he can be held somewhat responsible for the kid that died."

It was true. He'd supplied the substance that had killed the boy and there was a chance they'd slap that onto his charge; if he got caught that was. This was a tragedy, but it would hit closer to home if Tim Shepard got taken away in handcuffs. Dallas poked his head into our room and asked if we were ready to head out. The rest of the gang silently watched as we walked into the living room. The Curtis boys were under too close of a watch to stick their neck out for Tim, Steve wasn't too keen on being caught up on all of this for a Shepard, and as I've said before Johnny ain't one to go looking for problems. By going to the house, we were putting ourselves in some danger, but Tim needed us to help him case the place and we weren't gonna let him down. All the guys always said Tim had been good to them in the past and had helped them out of a few binds, especially Dal.

"We're ready," Two-Bit spoke up.

Darry told us to stop by their house whenever we were done so that they'd know we got out of it alright. We hurried to the car and Two-Bit was roaring out of the spot before I'd even fully shut the back door. Dal was giving him directions as we drove beyond the city limits, to a rundown farmhouse on the outskirts of town.

"Drive back into the corn field to hide the car," He instructed.

Shepard sure knew how to cover his tracks all right. He knew to get his boys off the streets to avoid them getting picked up by the fuzz and to cover the car incase we had to make a run for it; Curly had taken Tim's car with Jackson. Two-Bit cut the engine after we were a few yards deep into the crops and we walked up to the back porch with caution. Dallas whistled long and low, ending it in a high note; something I recognized as a call that our gang and the Shepard's used from time to time. It was returned just as Tim pushed open the door and stared at us in anger and frustration.

"These fucking freaks won't let me clean up this shit. With y'all here it's time to start cracking some skulls so we can get out of here scott free."

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I walked into that house. It looked and smelled dirty and there were sheets stuffed with hay for makeshift beds plopped down all over the place. The people were dirty themselves and their eyes were vacant and glossy. Two-Bit muttered that they were all stoned out of their gourds and judging by the fact that they were sitting in a circle discussing some book or another I'd have to agree with him. They seemed totally unperturbed that one of their own was dead.

"What'd you do with the kid?" Dal asked lowly.

Tim explained that some of the cats around here had taken Ren to the hospital once they'd come down from their trips, which gave us only a matter of time before the cops were out here to check up on things. Hippies and authority were like oil and water and Tim had no idea if one of them would sell him out or if they'd simply choose not to speak at all. Either way, we were going to make sure there was no concrete evidence leading back to the Shepard gang. I jumped about a mile when I felt bony fingertips caress the back of my head. A girl who couldn't have been more than seventeen was standing behind me eerily clutching a stuffed bear to her chest.

"Your hair is very pretty," She said properly, "You could be one of us with a change of clothes."

She braided some flowers into my hair and it took Tim's solid glare in my direction not to belt her across the face. Stoned people, especially chicks, always creeped me out a bit and her frail figure and dark eyes were no exception. Dallas made the first move and his shouts erupted throughout the two-story farmhouse, but they were received with little to no response. Shaking his head edgily, Two-Bit shushed Dal and made a more successful attempt. He spoke to a few hippies at a time and was polite with them. In a cheerful voice, he had them hand over their drugs, taking the wad of money that Tim handed him and making change for the narcotics. Stunned, I followed as Two-Bit maneuvered to each room and peddled with the hippies to exchange their drugs.

"Y'all will get 'em back later, I promise. We just need to check everything and make sure it's all cool, man."

Dal and Tim snorted whenever Two-Bit threw the word 'man' at the end of his sentences, but everyone in the house seemed to like his use of their lingo and Two-Bit patiently coaxed them all to give everything up. Tim and Dally were searching the cupboards, closets, and dressers for anything that was forgotten while I ran my hands over pants and shirt pockets, confiscating anything I found. We had to get violent with a few and I felt sick as I pounded a red-headed guy's face onto the bathroom sink while he preached to me about living a peaceful and nonviolent life and took the beating willingly. Blood was trickling down his face as I grabbed the blotting paper, stuff the hippies use to place under their tongue and is coated with acid, which was rolled into his sock.

"You should have just gave it to me," I solicited, "It's just for a little while that I need them. I'll give you money for more."

They didn't understand, none of them did, and they kept asking why we were here. This place was completely depressing. Everyone looked young despite some of them telling me about attending college out in California. Most of them were rail thin and scraggly looking and the ones we'd jumped were smiling up at us like we hadn't just beat their sorry asses. We handed Tim everything we'd confiscated and looked to him for our next move.

"Y'all are gonna have to get your shit in the next county for the next few weeks. I'll send someone to the Ribbon once this has all died down. You might wanna look into getting yourselves a new house too. I don't think the fuzz will let this place stand much longer."

A few of the hippies seemed to dig where Tim was going with what he was saying, while others looked at him like he was speaking another language. Those that understood started collecting the few belongings that were contained in the house and mentioned packing up the vans and heading over to the Westerly place about twenty minutes east of here.

"Bye Mustang," A few of them said to Tim as we headed out of the house to our cars.

We'd been in there longer than expected and knew it was only a matter of hours before the squad cars came rolling in. The sky was beginning to lighten up some and Tim seemed content with the job that we'd done.

"Mustang?" Dal asked once we'd stowed the drugs under the lining of Two-Bit's trunk carpet.

Tim shrugged, "Yeah, I wouldn't tell them who I really was so they named me. Fucking bunch of freak shows all of them, but they had me raking in money."

Dallas shook his head in disbelief at Tim actually letting anybody call him a nickname other than Shep. Shepard shifted uncomfortably next to me and swore darkly that he'd kill us if any greaser got wind of it.

"Take that damn braid and flowers out of your hair Orion. One look at you and we got guilty written all over us."

My hands reached up to my hair and I undid the braid while letting the flowers fall into my lap. When I'd finished, I rolled the window down and released the daisies from my grasp, watching them fly into the night. Tim was feeding Two-Bit directions from the backseat as we headed to the stables where we were going to stash the drugs in one of the buildings accompanying the barn. Shepard had a don't-ask don't-tell policy with Buck, who does upkeep for the owner, that allowed him to keep his illegal activities hidden behind old farming equipment. We entered and exited the farm without a hitch and none of us were up to making small talk on our way to drop Tim off at Finley's, the bar that the Shepard's had claimed, where he would be holding a meeting with his higher ups. Just as he was about to exit, Tim's hand stopped the door from slamming and he placed one knee onto the seat of Two-Bit's car and looked each one of us square in the eye.

"Greasers are always known for lookin' out for their own. Y'all went above and beyond that tonight. Each of you, even you Winston, are in my good graces."

Shepard nodded once more in our direction and shot me a wink before strutting into Finley's with a confident stride that must have taken years to master. Two-Bit revved the engine before gunning it in the direction of the Curtis'. I lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply as I wiped some blood off onto my pant leg.

"I must be trippin' now because Shepard just fucking put himself on our level. That confident prick thinks he's God half the time," Dal started in with a grin.

'**After tonight, I'd say he's shooting pretty close.'**

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**This is definitely one of my favorite chapters thus far. It was so easy to write and really flowed. Please review everybody and I hope you all really liked it.**


	58. Chapter 58

**Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter everyone and thanks for people adding me as their favorite author/story. It means a lot. Anyways, here we go with…**

**CHAPTER 58:**

Dallas and I sat on the hood of Two-Bit's car as we watched the infamous Tim Shepard trot down the jailhouse steps a free man. The police were always calling Tim in whenever things went south and this mess with the hippies was no exception. There were no charges to pin on him, though, and he had a clean alibi that the Shepard gang had undoubtedly cooked up and drilled into everybody's minds. Tim's face formed into a cat-like smirk as he threw an arm around each of our shoulders and basked in the glory of pullin' one over on Tulsa's finest.

"I reckon I should swing by the stable to make sure everything is going A-okay with my stash."

Dal and I offered no objection and were soon rambling down the dirt pathway to the stable. Buck was pitching some hay for the horses in the pasture and the three of us ambled nimbly over the fence to greet him. Tim patted a black horse absently while chewing on a piece of long grass while Dally allowed another horse to nuzzle in his chest. I stood off to the side awkwardly wondering how in the hell a Winston or Shepard boy was more comfortable around horses than I was.

"You ain't never ridden one before?" Buck asked with a cheeky smirk.

"Ain't never had the need seein' as a car will get you there faster," I remarked coldly.

Buck muttered something under his breath before walking with Tim to the barn we'd hidden the drugs in and taking off in his pickup truck. Dal ushered me to over to him and I walked slowly past the huge animals until I ended up at his side. He grabbed my hand and guided it along the horse's body in a soft, swinging motion. When the horse sidestepped, I backed off quickly and crossed my arms over my chest.

"That's nothing to worry about," Dal said as he pulled me close to him.

The horse had a few hundred pounds on me so I thought that it _was_ something to worry about. It pissed me off that the horse was intimidating me, but it was hard for me to be angry with it; they're beautiful creatures and I could see why Ponyboy was always doodling them on his math homework.

"If you promise not to run me over or bite my hand off, I'll pet you," I stated.

Dallas laughed a little as he once again picked up my hand and had me scratch the horse's side, or flank as I was told. Surprisingly, after a while I got used to the twitching of the skin and the occasional side stepping or shake of the head. However, when Dallas eased himself onto the horse's back and held out a hand for me, I shook my head no in refusal.

"No way in hell am I gettin' on that thing," I said with a nervous laugh.

"I ain't gonna let anything happen to you, babe. Now climb on."

Stamping the ground in frustration, I followed them over to the fence and climbed to the second rung before reaching for Dally's hand and gently landing into place behind him. After warning him not to go too fast, Dal made a sound in his throat and started off the horse at a walk. The confident body language he was shooting off made me grin in spite of myself and I clasped my hands tightly around his lean frame as our pace got steadily faster. There was no saddle, just a simple leash that Dallas instructed me was called a bridle and was used to steer and turn. The wind started to rustle through my hair as we picked up speed and I tightened my knees in order to stop from bouncing around. Dally was having the time of his life, odd as it was for a hood from New York to enjoy horseback riding.

"You two horse whisperers about ready to get the fuck out of here?" Came Tim's voice yelling from the barn.

After a few more laps, Dal swung off the horse and grabbed me easily in his arms as I came down.

"Thanks for teachin' me," I said quietly.

My lips met his halfway and I couldn't help but feel his strong arms pull me closer as our kiss intensified. As I bit his bottom lip gently, Dal let out a small moan and began to move his hands up my shirt. The only reason we pulled away was because of Tim and a few of the stablehands whistling at us from across the pasture.

"He really needs to stop interruptin' us," I remarked.

"You got me all wound up, girl," Dal told me huskily, ignoring the boys across the yard.

"Let's go cowboy," I said as I slipped in a hand into his back pocket and took off towards Two-Bit's car.

Tim had a few remarks about how we were practically 'going at it' in front of the horses, sheep, and everyone, but he bowed out of the conversation quietly once Dallas mentioned spreading a certain nickname around Tulsa. We decided to head over to Buck's for a few beers and Tim kicked people off his usual table and ordered a round of drinks while I rung Two-Bit to tell him to meet us. An Old Milwaukee and a shot of Johnnie Walker was waiting for me by the time I got back and Tim was shuffling some money into the hands of a barmaid. Dallas eyed the young girl blankly until she blushed a deep shade of red and said the drinks were on the house. One person and one person only doesn't pay for drinks at Buck's bar and that's Dallas Winston. And since I happen to be his girlfriend I'm lucky enough to share the privilege.

"Bought you a drink," Dal said with a grin, knowing I'd just seen his little stunt.

Shaking my head, I took a seat and the three of us held us clanked our shots in a cheers before swallowing them quickly. A slight burning sensation erupted in my throat and stomach and I took a small sip of beer to numb it. Two-Bit acted all offended at the number of shots that we'd downed by the time he got there, but the stupid grin he had on his face and the way his head was tilted slightly to the side gave up the fact that he'd been drinking prior to his arrival. Steve and Sodapop were with him, each looking downright exhausted as they ordered a beer and plopped down next to us.

"Rough day at the office boys?" I asked.

"Everyone's talking about that dead kid, Ren. Askin' us all sorts of questions because us working at the DX automatically means we know everything that's going on in this damn town," Steve grumbled.

Tim stated that they were lucky they didn't know anything and Steve laughed and said they were spreading the word that it was the River Kings doing the dealings. That was a smart idea, getting a false word around and it was noticeable that Shepard appreciated it since the next round of drinks was on him. Pretty soon I was drunk as a dog, drunker than I'd been in a hell of a long time. I sat in my chair idly since the prospect of me standing up without help would likely mean me falling on my face. Keeping up my appearance was everything and I wasn't willing to take a spill like that with this many people in Buck's. It was still early, just after nine and the place was swarming. Dallas was outside talking business with Buck about the rodeo in Bristow next month while Soda and Steve were chatting with some girls over by the jukebox. Lighting a cigarette, I placed my arm on the table and lowered my head as the room spun from side to side.

"You ain't lookin' so good," Two-Bit stated.

He placed a hand cooled from his beer on the back of my neck while I took in a deep breath and relaxed some. I felt real dizzy and stubbed my smoke out since it seemed to only be making that situation worse. I'd been going light on the sleep lately and figured that might be part of the reason the liquor had gone straight to my head.

"I needa go lay down somewhere Bit," I responded finally.

My words were coming out slurred and mixed up a bit and I smiled goofily at my friend when he raised an eyebrow in my direction. I noticed him nod over at Steve who took one look at me and walked outside, no doubt to find Dal. Sodapop handed me a soda he'd sneaked from behind the bar and I sat up to take a sip. The liquid settled my stomach some, but I was in no condition to slum any more. Vaguely, I remember Dally walking in through the door with a slightly worried look on his face. He wrapped an arm around my waist and walked slowly with me up the stairs. My feet got all tangled about midway up and it took all of Dal's strength to keep me from smashing head first into stained wood. Scared of me taking a spill, Dallas picked me up and carried me into the bathroom where he sat me on the long counter. I leaned heavily against the wall and pulled my knees against my chest.

"Baby, do you think you're gonna be sick?"

I whispered a 'no' and started to shiver from the chills. A wet cloth was placed lightly against my forehead and Dally swore softly as my chin drooped into my chest. Somehow, we ended up in the bedroom reserved for Dal and I tried in vain to kick off my boots. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I started to fly into unconsciousness with my boots untied and my hair all in my face. I looked like a stupid girl who'd had too much to drink. I wasn't looking good and I probably reeked of liquor. Still, as Dallas laid down beside me he pulled my hair out of my face and slipped my shoes off of my feet. The last thing I remembered before I was out cold was Dallas putting my head on his chest and rubbing my back gently.

"You sure made a mess of yourself tonight," He said with a small smirk, "But I love you, doll. I'll see you tomorrow."

All I could do was nod as my blackout overtook me for good.

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**I bet all of you have been wondering how in the hell Orion's kept her drinking pretty much in check throughout this whole story. Here's how a typical night of partying can be screwed over by one too many shots. We've all been there, now it was Orion's turn. Review please!**


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